Erika Eigen – I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper

Erika Eigen – I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper (pdf)

This song has been a theme tune twice over. It was used in the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange and, more recently, featured in a Marks and Spencer’s ad. The ad features some of the world’s most beautiful women and Myleene Klass (Heather: I’m doing it just to wind you up now) doing what supermodels do: watering plants in unusual positions, playing golf in their undies and ensuring the smooth passage of sea-going vessels.

If there’s not enough uke in this version for you, the song was covered to great advantage by Shorty Long (the ukulele heroes rather than the R&B guy).

The chorder is a classic retro-20s/30s chord progression. It’s definitely worth setting the sound of this one to memory. You’ll hear the turnaround section (“I’ll polish his lamp…”) all over the place.

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34 Comments

Heather April 20th, 2008 7:47 pm

You bastard!! ;)

Thanks for doing this one – I love this song.
p9000 April 21st, 2008 1:08 am

OOooOOOoooooHHHhh sweeeeEEEeeeet! I LOVE this song! Many thanks!
Brian April 21st, 2008 7:39 am

Hi-whenever I hear this I want to commit some ultraviolence and then dress in M&S pants!
good chords
Brian
Woodshed April 21st, 2008 11:42 pm

p9000: You’re welcome.

Brian: That’s a coincidence. When I hear it, I want to wear a bra and panties and drink moloko.
Heather April 22nd, 2008 3:40 am

Unlike every other moment you’re awake, you mean?
Danny April 22nd, 2008 3:54 pm

Wasnt this a cover version?
Thought the version on a Clockwork Orange was by Rachael Elkind. Great little track whoever its by
Woodshed April 22nd, 2008 11:07 pm

Heather: Not at all. I hardly ever drink milk.

Danny: I think Rachael Elkind wrote the score for the film, but I’m pretty sure Eigen wrote and performed this song.
Sam April 23rd, 2008 10:06 am

This song works really well on the uke. Many thanks! What would you call this genre of music though? I’d like to find more fun songs like this one to play, but I have no idea what to search for.

Thanks again.
Woodshed April 23rd, 2008 10:31 pm

You might try looking into ‘hokum’, Sam. Some particularly fine acts are The White Ghost Shivers, The Asylum Street Spankers and, of course, Shorty Long.
Robert June 3rd, 2008 3:24 pm

I find this Lighthouse keeper M&S advertisment so jolly and uplifting. Ideal for dull weather. Those girls are so charming in their cute litlle charades that I just want to go there!
arch October 31st, 2008 5:47 am

http://www.ukulelecosmos.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6710&highlight=lighthouse
Feef June 21st, 2009 4:58 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaXfD4mpHRs
I really like playing this!
Deege December 28th, 2009 7:49 pm

This song was also used a few times in the cartoon “The Maxx” if anybody remembers it…
Woodshed December 30th, 2009 11:26 am

Deege: Thanks for the info.
Annie March 28th, 2010 12:17 am

i just got really good at this song thanks to this tab.

I’m gonna get so much dick.
Woodshed March 30th, 2010 8:07 am

Annie: Enjoy all that dick!
Annie April 7th, 2010 6:53 pm

there is not a better thing you could have said.

yada tada ta ta ta
Baphomiss October 20th, 2010 10:37 pm

Ay up Woodshed! loving your site. i have it open every evening for reference during my uke practice. been playing about 3-4 weeks now (on my wee Makala Dolphin, heh heh!)

this song is what made me want to learn uke to begin with! thanks so much for this! only prob is, i cant figure out the strumming to save my life!
im liking the pattern in this vid (below) any tips? :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyJ9TslUnqY
Woodshed October 22nd, 2010 7:14 pm

Baphomiss: Not so keen on that version myself but I think she’s mainly going with:

d – d u – u d u
Kevin March 11th, 2011 1:04 am

Hey, the C#dim chord is actually just a C minor chord
John Birsner September 18th, 2011 7:43 pm

As I was putting this together for our club I found a liitle aside by someone in one of the YouTube comments section. It was another middle 8, and face it, the song could use a little something more to flesh it out (IMHO)

(C) We’ll take walks along the (Cm) coral reef, have (G) clambakes by the (G7) shore. (C) We’ll invite the (Cm) neighbors in, (D) seagulls by the score. Cheers, and thanks for posting!
Captain Nirvana March 24th, 2012 6:02 pm

Rather horrorshow feeling I had when I viddied this on here.
Paul November 12th, 2012 11:33 pm

Great song, thanks for the chords.
The original was by psychedelic folk band Sunforest, of which Erika Eigen was a member. Seems it was shortened for use in the film and advert.
Anyway, here is a longer version, including the additional middle eight:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b3ysfod28e7vpsj/LighthouseKeeper.doc?m
Woodshed November 13th, 2012 9:09 am

Paul: Thanks very much.
Jo August 30th, 2013 9:24 am

Oh No! Desperate to learn this one but get error message the file damaged and could not be repaired. Can you fix please??
(Teaching myself to play using Uke for Dummies – quite pleased with myself!)
Jo
Woodshed August 30th, 2013 10:18 am

Jo: Sorry about that. Try this link:

http://ukulelehunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/lighthousekeeper.pdf
Jo August 30th, 2013 10:26 am

Thanks very much (although think problem was probably this end after all)
Woodshed August 30th, 2013 10:34 am

Jo: It must have been something wrong with the file. It wouldn’t download for me either.
tooney June 10th, 2014 4:44 pm

This is fantastic, Woodshed. Thanks. I’ve had trouble opening the PDF links as well – it usually works for me if I open in new tab.

You reminded me of ‘Howard wanted to write “mumbo jumbo,” but I said no, our Sheldon would say “hokum.”‘
Woodshed June 11th, 2014 8:02 am

tooney: Hmm, that’s strange. I’ll force it to open in a new tab.
Luna September 17th, 2016 7:05 pm

Hello, I know this is quite an old post now, but as a highly motivated newbie I just discovered your blog, and am trying my best with this great silly song :)
What does the (F#) mean? I mean, how am I supposed to play it, why is it in brackets ( ) ?
Woodshed September 18th, 2016 1:06 pm

Luna: It means it’s a passing chord (i.e. you only play it very briefly). So you can leave it out all together if you like.
Luna September 18th, 2016 3:50 pm

Thank you Woodshed. I tried playing it just one down strum and then go on on the G, but it confuses me with keeping the rythm and timing. Mayb I’ll leave it out for now, focucsing at keeping a nice srtum and singing at the same time is enough for me at the moment :)

I can’t stop reading through your blog, I’m looknig at things above my level, but it is fantasitc and highly motivating and so well explained, so I’ll get here :). Thank you so much for the great work.

You are now my official unvoluntary new uke teacher.
Woodshed September 18th, 2016 8:44 pm

Luna: Thanks so much! I hope you have a blast learning.

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Erika Eigen – I Want To Marry A Lighthouse Keeper