Log In My Account Join Upgrade Premium VIP Beta Tester Free Trial
Menu Search Join VIP Beta Tester Premium

Home ❯ Songs ❯

Paper Ships

by Dead Man's Bones • Lesson #2 • Nov 10, 2013

About this lesson

Here’s a guitar lesson teaching you how to play Paper Ships by Dead Man’s Bones. I’ll walk you through the chord shapes, progression, and strumming needed to play all sections of the song. A great song from an amazing album — one I listen to every single October. Good luck with it!

Notes and tabs

Guitar chords used

Here is how to play the guitar chords used in this song. It is fairly standard using chords in the key of G, but you have some interesting chords being Cm and B7, which aren’t super common. Just the same, this is a great chord to learn those chords.

e-|----3----2----0----2----3----0-----
B-|----0----0----1----3----4----0-----
G-|----0----2----0----4----5----0-----
D-|----0----1----2----4----5----2-----
A-|----2----2----3----2----3----2-----
E-|----3------------------------0-----
       G    B7   C    Bm   Cm   Em

Playing the pre-chorus

One quick trick here – when you switch from the Bm to the C chord, apply your pinky on the 3rd fret of the highest string. This will sound better with the melodic voicing of the song.

e-|---2------------3--------2---------------3-------
B-|---3------------1--------3---------------1-------
G-|---4------------0--------4---------------0-------
D-|---4------------2--------4---------------2-------
A-|---2------------3--------2---------------3-------
E-|-------------------------------------------------
      Bm           C        Bm              C
     "So I hold my poems...    for ladies unknown..."

Playing the chorus

Similar to above, there is a little trick you can use here that makes the Cm to G transition easier. Instead of playing the G in open position, play it as a barre chord on the 3rd fret. Because you’ll already have the 3rd fret barred for the Cm, this makes the transition much easier.

e-|-----3---------------3--------3------------3----
B-|-----4---------------3--------4------------3----
G-|-----5---------------4--------5------------4----
D-|-----5---------------5--------5------------5----
A-|-----3---------------5--------3------------5----
E-|---------------------3---------------------3----
        Cm              G        Cm           G
     "Until my hands go weak... ohh..... I'll be..."

Chord progressions

INTRO
| G . . . | B7 . . . | C . . . | G . . . | x4

VERSE
"Sailed on a ship of paper..."
| G . . . | B7 . . . | C . . . | G . . . | x4

PRE-CHORUS
"So I hold my poems..."
| Bm . . . | C . . . | Bm . . . | C . . . |

CHORUS
"Until my hands go weak, oh..."
| Cm . . . | G . . . | Cm . . . | G . . . |
| Cm . . . | G . . . | Em . . . | C . . . |
| Cm . . . | G . . . |

Other Favorite Dead Man’s Bones Videos

In the Room Where You Sleep — single take, one room performance with the kids choir all in costume. The album version of this song is well done, but the feeling of this live one just can’t be beat.

Name in Stone - my favorite of all their songs. Another single take recording from a LA Cemetery. Haunting and strangely celebratory, as many of their songs are. I love it.

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 303 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

Browse Related Lessons

Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Most of the lessons on my website are 100% free. If you have the means, please show your support with a tip jar contribution. I put many hours into every lesson — but it only takes you a minute to make a donation. You have my thanks!

Donate

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Recently Added
Most Popular
Beginner-Friendly
Browse by Artist
Browse by Song Title
Browse by Song Year
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s

Featured Courses

Guitar for Beginners

A guide to getting started with guitar! Everything you need to know to begin your journey. Choosing a guitar, other gear you'll need, fretting notes & chords, learning your first songs, and more.

14 lessons

View

Beginner Chord Guide

A guide to the must-know chords you'll need when getting started with guitar! The quickest way to learn major chords, minor chords, the chords in each key, and more.

22 lessons

View

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learn to read tabs, chord charts, fretboard diagrams, strumming patterns, and more! This course explains how to understand all of these must-know notation styles.

6 lessons

View

Blues Starter Kit

A guide to must-know elements of beginner blues guitar! I'll walk you through the essential topics, showing you fun things to play along the way.

18 lessons

View
Christmas Songbook
Strumming & Rhythm
Learning Lead Guitar
Fingerstyle & Travis Picking
Practical Music Theory
Major Keys
Minor Keys
Double Stops
Diagonal Pentatonics
Walk Ups & Walk Downs
Using a Capo
CAGED Shapes
Practice Tips
Barre Chords

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Key Master

See and hear the notes, chords, scales used in each of the most common keys.

View

Blank Tabs

Free PDF templates to download, print, and write out your own guitar tabs!

View

Coming soon is Jambox – which shows all the video jam tracks I've made. It's note quite ready for the spotlight, but check it out if you like!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!

Recent Lessons

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage


Title (long)
"Paper Ships" by Dead Man's Bones
Title (short)
Paper Ships by Dead Man's Bones
YouTube URL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAHHEbVKcHs
Thumbnail (video)
Video thumbnail for
Thumbnail (pdf)
n/a
Slug
2
Lesson URL
/lessons/2/
Patreon URL
n/a
Discussion URL
n/a
Add to Favorites
List of Favorites