Wild World

by Cat Stevens • Lesson #282 • Jan 31, 2020

Video lesson

Print-Friendly Song Sheet 3 pages

Follow along with my print-friendly guide for this song! It’s available for purchase at Musicnotes.com, the web’s leading provider of licensed sheet music.

On the fence? Here's a guide I made showing the purchase & print process, including answers to common questions about my song sheets.

Buy at Musicnotes.com

Save 50% on this song sheet by applying the December 2023 code at Musicnotes checkout: KQFHFA2J8J (click to copy). Thanks for being a Premium supporter!

Song Notes Premium includes a 50% discount code you can use when buying any of my licensed song sheets. For the current month's code, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’s notes

Hey friends! Here’s my lesson for “Wild World” by Cat Stevens. Played in the key of C, this is an intermediate song (requiring only 1 barre chord) which offers many opportunities to add fills & riffs in between your normal strums. I’ll teach you the intro, verse, chorus, the various riffs and fills, as well as walking you through a few different strumming patterns. I hope you find this helpful!

Timestamps for this lesson:

  • 0:00 Playthrough & overview
  • 2:16 Chord shapes
  • 5:01 Chord progressions
  • 8:47 Strumming patterns
  • 11:16 Riff: Esus4 lick
  • 12:32 Riff: G7 Walkdown
  • 15:35 Riff: Chorus Scale Walkdown
  • 17:18 Riff: Chorus Bass Line
  • 19:42 Final advice

Lyrics and chords

    Am             D             G
    ...La la la la la la la, la, la...
                   C             F
    ...La la la la la la la, la, la...
                   Dm                  E      Esus4 E
    ...La la la la la la la la, la, la la la...


    Am               D                  G
    ...Now that I've lost everything to you
                C                     F
    You say you wanna start something new
             Dm                       E                     Esus4 E
    And it's breaking my heart you're leaving.... baby, I'm grieving

    Am                  D                G
    ...But if you wanna leave, take good care
                      C                     F
    I hope you have a lot of nice things to wear
               Dm                      E       G        G7 (walk down)
    But then a lot of nice things turn bad out there...


            C      G                  F          (riff)
            ...Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
            G                   F              C     (riff)
            ...It's hard to get by just upon a smile
            C      G                  F          (riff)
            ...Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world
            G                F                 C            Dm  E
            ...I'll always remember you like a child, girl...

    Am                      D                         G
    ...You know I've seen a lot of what the world can do
             C                    F
    And it's breaking my heart in two
              Dm                    E                     Esus4 E
    Because I never wanna see you a sad girl... don't be a bad girl

    Am                  D                G
    ...But if you wanna leave, take good care
                      C                       F
    I hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
               Dm                          E      G     G7 (walk down)
    But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware...

          [ chorus x 1 ]

    Am             D             G
    ...La la la la la la la, la, la...
                   C             F
    ...La la la la la la la, la, la...
                   Dm                  E               Esus4 E
    ...La la la la la la la la, la, la la la... baby I love you

    Am                  D                G
    ...But if you wanna leave, take good care
                      C                       F
    I hope you make a lot of nice friends out there
               Dm                          E      G     G7 (walk down)
    But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware...

          [ chorus x2 ]

          G                F                 C (let ring)
          ...I'll always remember you like a child, girl

Guitar Chords Used

Here is how to play the guitar chords used in this song. Note, I’m also including some alternative chord positions you can use, mainly the Cmaj7 (in place of the C) and the D7 (in place of the D). These are optional, but may help change up the sound.

e-|---0---2---3---0---1---1---0---   ---2-----0----1----0---
B-|---1---3---0---1---1---3---0---   ---1-----0----0----0---
G-|---2---2---0---0---2---2---1---   ---2-----0----0----2---
D-|---2---0---0---2---3---0---2---   ---0-----2----0----2---
A-|---0-------2---3---3-------2---   ---------3----2----2---
E-|-----------3-------1-------0---   --------------3----0---
      Am  D   G   C   F   Dm  E         D7   Cmaj7 G7   E4

Transition from Verse to Chorus

At the very end of the verse, you’ll transition from a G to a G7 to the C that begins the chorus. Here are a few ways you can play that transition. The first is to do this walkdown that uses the highest four strings:

e-|-----------0-------3---|---------3--------3--------3---|---0------3------
B-|-----------0-------0---|-------0--------0--------0-----|---1------0------
G-|-----------1-------0---|-----0--------0--------0-------|---0------0------
D-|-----------2-------0---|---3--------2--------0---------|---2------0------
A-|-----------2-------2---|-------------------------------|---3------2------
E-|-----------0-------3---|-------------------------------|----------3------
     "...turn bad out there...                                ...Oh, baby..."

Or, you can play the same general thing but focus the walkdown on higher strings:

e-|-----------0-------3---|---1--------0------------------|---0------3------
B-|-----------0-------0---|---0--------0--------3---------|---1------0------
G-|-----------1-------0---|---0--------0--------0---------|---0------0------
D-|-----------2-------0---|---0--------0--------0---------|---2------0------
A-|-----------2-------2---|---2--------2--------2---------|---3------2------
E-|-----------0-------3---|---3--------3--------3---------|----------3------
     "...turn bad out there...                                ...Oh, baby..."

Chorus Turnaround Riffs

During the chorus there are a few guitar riffs you may want to play for extra embellishment. The first is a complete descending C scale:

e-|---0---3----------------1----------|---------------------------|---3---
B-|---1---0----------------1----------|---1--0--------------------|---0---
G-|---0---0----------------2----------|--------2--0---------------|---0---
D-|---2---0----------------3----------|--------------3--2--0------|---0---
A-|---3---2----------------3----------|----------------------(3)--|---2---
E-|-------3----------------1----------|---------------------------|---3---
     "Oh, baby baby it's a wild world..."

The second is a bass line turnaround on the 6th and 5th strings.

e-|-----------------0-------|--(0)-----------------------|---0------3----
B-|-----------------1-------|--(1)-----------------------|---1------0----
G-|-----------------0-------|--(0)-----------------------|---0------0----
D-|-----------------2-------|--(2)-----------------------|---2------0----
A-|-----------------3-------|---x-----0--3--3--3--0------|---3------2----
E-|-------------------------|---3--3-----------------3---|----------3----
  "...just upon a smile...                                 ...Oh, baby..."

Other videos of this song

1970 album version:

1971 live version:

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 196 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? Buy me a beer!

If this and my other lessons have proven helpful to you, please consider making a one-time donation to my tip jar. Contributions of any amount help make this project possible (including the many, many hours I put into it).

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

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

  • December 1, 2023

    First Steps with Doc Watson's "Deep River Blues"

    Here's a getting started guide to learning this fingerstyle classic from Doc Watson. I'll guide you, step-by-step, through the necessary chords, picking, and strumming skills needed.

  • November 22, 2023

    10 Years of Song Notes... Thanks to You!

    A few quick words of gratitude for all the support & encouragement you all have given me over the past ten years!

  • November 17, 2023

    Guitar Finger Exercises for Flexibility, Control, Speed, and more

    Here's a handful of my favorite exercises to help with finger independence. Whether you're a beginner or been at it for years, baking these into your practice routine can pay off big time!

  • November 10, 2023

    Lead Guitar Improvisation Tips (feat. Wagon Wheel)

    Learn how to improvise, step-by-step! I'll show how you can play countless riffs over a small cluster of notes on the thinnest three strings. Tons of fun!

  • November 5, 2023

    Travis Picking Training Wheels (ft. Hayes Carll)

    I showcase a short & fun fingerstyle riff, where I demonstrate the "training wheels" trick you can use to simplify any Travis Picking pattern.

  • November 4, 2023

    Strumming with Alternating Bass Notes

    Learn how to strum any of the most common chords using alternating bass notes – which is an essential technique often used in country, rock, and folk songs.

  • November 3, 2023

    Long Black Veil

    Learn to play Lefty Frizzell's 1959 country classic in the style of Johnny Cash! Includes alternating bass note strumming tips & a melody deep-dive.

  • October 28, 2023

    St James Infimary Blues

    A refresh for my 2019 lesson teaching this blues classic! I updated my PDF guide and added four new zoomed-in playthroughs, showing tabs on screen.

  • October 21, 2023

    Fingerstyle Patterns for All Chords (using Travis Picking)

    I've taught tons of lessons using Travis-style fingerpicking, but haven't ever put together a cheat sheet showing patterns for every common chord... until now!

  • October 16, 2023

    Soulful Lead Guitar Licks over "Amazing Grace"

    Learn how to combine simple strumming with beginner-friendly lead guitar licks while playing this classic song! Slow playthrough video & jam tracks included.

Browse All Recent Lessons →

Browse All My Lessons

By lesson type

By technique

By musical genre

By decade

By musical key

By popular artist


← back to homepage