Gain a new skill and spread a little sunshine along the way

We hope you liked our ‘sunshine’ chalkboard*, that we featured in our May issue. We’ve been humming ‘You Are My Sunshine’ all month.

If, like us, you’ve been trying your hand at a new skill or using lockdown as time to improve on a skill you already have, you might have dusted off an old instrument or two. We know lots of people have dug out their ukuleles or bought one online recently. They’re a really easy instrument to learn. If you fancy having a go, we’ve started you off here with the chords for You Are My Sunshine. It’s the song most uke players start off with because it only uses three really simple chords.

Here are the chords you need to know to play You Are My Sunshine. (The left hand side is the top of the fret board, so with C you would place your ring finger on the bottom string on the third fret).

You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis, Charles Mitchell, 1939)

You Are My [C] Sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me [F] happy
When skies are [C] grey.
You'll never know, [F] dear,
How much I [C] love you.
Please don't take my [G7] sunshine a-[C] -way

The other night, dear,
As I lay sleeping
I dreamed I [F] held you in my [C] arms.
When I a-[F]-woke, dear,
I was mis-[C]-taken
And I hung my [G7] head and [C] cried.

You Are My [C] Sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me [F] happy
When skies are [C] grey.
You'll never know, [F] dear,
How much I [C] love you.
Please don't take my [G7] sunshine a-[C] -way
Please don't take my [G7] sunshine a-[C] -way