“Wade in Your Water” was a smash hit for Common Kings and even though they are based out of Orange County, California, the local content and place names made the song popular in Hawaiʻi. For a while it was one of the main songs you’d hear the kids playing on ukulele.
You can jam it on your own uke using the chords below and some of these tips. Here’s the music video:
Intro Riff
You can play the guitar intro picking part on your ukulele just by rolling down the strings from top to bottom with the rhythm.
In TAB it would look like this:
A |--------x--| E |------x----| C |----x------| G |--x--------|
The “x”s just show what string to play on when. The fret numbers will change depending on what chord you’re holding, but the picking pattern stays the same.
You can continue to use this little picking riff throughout the song.
Strumming Pattern
The song starts with the picking part and there isn’t really a strumming part to follow until the chorus hits. At that point you can play the keyboard part on your uke.
This is just a classic reggae beat with what I call the “Jawaiian” variation which adds an upstrum after the off beat.
The timing goes:
1 2 3 4
D U D U
You can learn more about playing a reggae style ukulele strum in this lesson.
There’s not much more to tell you. The chords are in the same key as the original recording so you can play along with the video above or on your iPod.
Here are the chord diagrams you’ll use to play “Wade in Your Water”:
Em
C major
G
D
Am
Bm
B7
Em C
Sponsored by Billabong, surfer girl
G D
Type a girl I like feel up on, in the water
Em C
Really wanna rock her boat, like a
G D
Hurricane in a perfect storm, Lawd
Pre-Chorus:
Em C
Ask her where she gone away to
G D
Said Haleiwa/Laie/Waimea, said she love the North Shore
Em C
Bikini top, black scotts
G D
And them board shorts, paddle out, paddle out
Chorus (x2):
Em
Can I wade in your water
C
Can I wade in your water
G
Can I wade in your water
D Em C G D
Until I catch your wave (lawd)
Em C
Like the sun I can feel her warmth, Yeah
G D
Heat wave through the winter months, Oh
Em C
Type a love never expire, Mmm
G D
Burns slow like a bonfire
Pre-Chorus>
Chorus>
Bridge:
Am
When the sun fades
Bm
And I float your way
Em
I will stay the night
B7
Just to catch your wave
Chorus>
Em C
Go deeper in to natures arms, Yeah
G D
Cascade like Waimea falls, Oh
Em C
Pipe line through her open sea
G D
I'm in love with her currently, Yeah
Pre-Chorus>