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Night swim (C5)ming
de serves a qui et night.
The (G)pho to graph on the dash board,
(G)tak en years a go,
(C)turned a round back wards so the (Dsus)wind shield shows.
(G)Ev er y street light knew you.
re veals the pic (G)ture in re verse.
(C)Still, it’s so much clear er.
(G)I for got my shirt at the wa (G)ter’s edge.
The (Csus2)moon is low to night.
Night swim (Csus2)ming
de serves a qui et night.
I’m (C)not sure all these peo ple un der stand.
pin ing for the It’s (D)not like years a go, what if there were the (Csus2)fear of get (A)ting caught,
in or bit of (Dsus)reck less ness and wa ter.
They can not (D)see me na (G)ked.
These (Csus2)things, they (A)go a way,
re (Dsus)placed by ev ’ry day.
Night swim (Csus2)ming,
re mem ber ing that night.
Sep (C)tem ber’s com ing soon.
un der I’m pin ing for the It’s (D)not like years a And what if there were two (Csus2)fear of side (A)ting by
in or bit a (Dsus)round the fair est sun?
ter.
They That tight (D)for ev er (G)drum
could (Csus2)not de (A)scribe night swim
re (Dsus)placed by ev ’ry day.
(C)ming.
The (G)pho to graph re flects
(D)ev ’ry street light, a re mind er.
Night swim (C)ming
de (Dsus)serves a qui (D)et night,
de (Csus2)serves a qui (A)et night.
(G)pho to graph re flects
(D)ev ’ry street light, a re mind er.
Night swim (C)ming
de (Dsus)serves a qui (D)et night,
de (Csus2)serves a qui (A)et night.
This page shows “Nightswimming” by R.E.M. in our color-coded kid songbook view — every note is colored by pitch (red C, orange D, yellow E, green F, blue G, purple A, pink B) and the lyrics sit directly under each note, so children can sing along while they play. The song is in the key of G at 100 BPM, a medium-difficulty arrangement — try slowing the tempo down using the BPM control.
This arrangement is a wonderful exercise in keeping your left hand steady while your right hand moves through some beautifully open chord voicings. Your left hand plays an octave bass pattern throughout, so start by drilling that alone until it feels almost automatic — it needs to be your anchor, not something you're thinking about. At 100 BPM the tempo is gentle, but watch the transitions between the sus chords: moving from Dsus4 to D and Csus2 to C requires small, precise finger adjustments, and rushing those changes is the most common stumble I see. Practice the C–Csus2–D–Dsus4 cluster as its own loop, hands together, at about 70 BPM before bringing it up to speed. Pay attention to your sustain pedal — this peaceful, flowing feel depends on clean pedal changes right on each new bass note, not before. If you let pedal moments get sloppy, the harmonies blur into mud. Once it clicks, this song will genuinely solidify your confidence with suspended chords and smooth voice leading, skills that transfer to dozens of other ballads.