Home ❯ Songs ❯

Paper Ships

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

Add to My Favorites

Adding to my favorites…

Added (View All Favorites | Remove)

Added (removing…)

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.

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

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

Fingerstyle & Travis Picking

Practical Music Theory

Walk Ups & Walk Downs

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

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

View

JamBox

Play-along practice tracks, showing chord changes on screen, to help make practice more fun!

View

Key Master

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

View

Capo Captain

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

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

June 12, 2026

"Ramble On" Acoustic Bassline Groove (Led Zeppelin)

Learn a strummed version of this iconic Led Zeppelin bassline, made playable on an acoustic guitar! Includes a fun variation that allows continuous strumming throughout.
June 6, 2026

Melody, with Chords: "Love Me Tender"

Learn to play Love Me Tender's melody and chords at the same time! This lesson uses Key of C chords (capo 2), which simplify things in several helpful ways.
June 5, 2026

"Love Me Tender" as played by Elvis Presley

Learn to sing & strum this all-time classic! I'll teach you the alternating bass note approach that Elvis uses in his 1956 recording, with plenty of helpful tips included.
May 29, 2026

Learning Triads with "Happy Birthday" (Key of G)

Here's an amazingly helpful way to get better with triads: use it to play the familiar song Happy Birthday. In this lesson, I'll show you two ways to do this in the Key of G.
May 19, 2026

Guitar Jam Tracks: How I Make Them!

In today's lesson I'll answer a common question: how do I make the audio + video jam tracks that accompany my lessons! I walk through the process in real-time using my DAW of choice (GarageBand on the Mac).
May 4, 2026

New and Improved! Song List Update.

For years, 50+ song-inspired lessons I've made haven't been in the "Song" section of my website... until now! A few other improvements are included too.
April 24, 2026

Country Fingerstyle, Melody + Bass (feat. "Live Forever" by Billy Joe Shaver)

Learn three ways to dive into a melodic country style groove, inspired by Billy Joe Shaver's Live Forever.
April 21, 2026

Sneak Peek! Step-by-Step Travis Picking Course

The last few months I've been working on a brand new course, and the first 13 lessons are now online. Over 20 exercise videos are also included. Much more to come soon!
April 10, 2026

"Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty

Learn to strum and sing Tom Petty's 1989 classic. I include a campfire version (no capo), as well as the colorful chord variations used in Key of D (capo 3) and Key of E (capo 1) versions. Rhythm & strumming tips too!

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage

Paper Ships

About this lesson

Notes and tabs

Guitar chords used

Playing the pre-chorus

Playing the chorus

Chord progressions

Other Favorite Dead Man’s Bones Videos

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Browse Related Lessons

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Featured Courses

Guitar for Beginners

Beginner Chord Guide

Reading Music for Guitarists

Blues Starter Kit

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

JamBox

Key Master

Capo Captain

Blank Tabs

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Recent Lessons