Dexys Midnight Runners – Come on Eileen (Chords)
What a blast this song is. Perfect for a ukulele group (once that’s an option again). Carolina Ukulele Ensemble kill it with their version.
There’s a sweet key change between the verse (in the key of C) and chorus (in D). They pivot around a G chord which is a V chord in C and a IV chord in D making for a smooth change. The journey back is a bit more abrupt so they insert that little banjo riff after the A at the end of the chorus then swoop back to C.
Suggested Strumming Pattern
I go with mostly down-strums throughout and throw in a few up-strums when the mood takes me. You can use double-time down-strums in the too-ra-loo bits to build up tension. And just down-strum the 2 and 4 beats in the bridge.
Twiddly Bits
Come on Eileen (Intro Tab)
The intro starts off with the melody of Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms which is reprised in the outro. The traditional melody is also used for Fair Harvard.
The little banjo break can be played like this:
And the fiddle run like this:
Which goes like this:
