My Guitar Songbook

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Kum-Ba-Yah (Fingerstyle) - Helmut Bickel

Kum-Ba-Yah (Fingerstyle) - Helmut Bickel (4/4)

Melody:
------

   G           C     G             C
    _     _     _       _     _     _
   | |   | | | | |   | | |   | | | | |
e|-----|-------0-0-|-------|-----------|
B|---0-|-3-3-3-1---|-3---0-|-3-3-3-1-0-|
G|-0---|-0---0-----|-0-0---|-0---0-0---|
D|-0---|-----------|---0---|-----------|
A|-----|-----2-3---|-------|-----2-3---|
E|-3---|-3---------|-3-3---|-3---------|

 Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;

   D G           C     G C   G   D   G
      _     _     _           _   _
   | | |   | | | | |   | |   | | | | |
e|-------|-------0-0-|-----|-----------|
B|-----0-|-3-3-3-1---|-3-1-|-0---------|
G|-2-0---|-0---0-----|-0-0-|---0-2-2-0-|
D|-0-0---|-----------|-----|-----0---0-|
A|-------|-----2-3---|---3-|-----------|
E|-2-3---|-3---------|-3---|-3---2---3-|


*:·..·:*¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨*:·..·:*


Lyrics:
------
From: Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbaya


Version 1:
---------

        G             C      G
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
        G             C      D
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
        G             C      G
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya,
C   G   D       G
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Someone's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Someone's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Someone's praying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's praying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's praying, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Someone's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

-----------------

Version 2:
---------

Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Hear me crying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Hear me crying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Hear me crying, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Hear me singing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Hear me singing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Hear me singing, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Hear me praying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Hear me praying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Hear me praying, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Oh, I need you, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Oh, I need you, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Oh, I need you, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

-----------------

Version 3:
--------- 

Someone need you, Lord, come by here
Someone need you, Lord, come by here
Someone need you, Lord, come by here
Oh, Lord, come by here. 

Now I need you, Lord, come by here
Sinners need you, Lord, come by here
Sinners need you, Lord, come by here
Oh, Lord, come by here. 

Come by here, my Lord, come by here,
Come by here, my Lord, come by here,
Come by here, my Lord, come by here,
Oh, Lord, come by here. 

In the mornin' see, Lord, come by here,
In the mornin' see, Lord, come by here,
In the mornin' see, Lord, come by here,
Oh, Lord, come by here. 

I gon' need you, Lord, come by here,
I gon' need you, Lord, come by here,
I gon' need you, Lord, come by here,
Oh, Lord, come by here. 

Oh, Sinners need you, Lord, come by here,
Sinners need you, Lord, come by here,
Sinners need you, Lord, come by here,
Oh my Lord, won't you come by here. 

In the morning - morning, won't you come by here
Mornin' - morning, won't you come by here
In the Mornin' - morning, won't you come by here
Oh, Lord, come by here. 

-----------------

Version 4:
--------- 

For the sun, that rises in the sky
For the rhythm of the falling rain
For all life, great or small
For all that's true, for all you do. 

Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

For the second on this world you made,
For the love that will never fade,
For a heart beating with joy,
For all that's real, for all we feel. 

Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya. 

Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya.

Rate This | Song Info | Song Stats | Tutorial | Tab (pdf)

Adder:	Bill Charrette [ willc ]
Date:	6/26/2021
Tab by:	Cover
Rated:	(1) Hot! Popular!
Views:	1678
pdf Hits:	1113

Kum-Ba-Yah (Fingerstyle) - Helmut Bickel

"Kum ba yah" ("Come by Here") is an African American spiritual of disputed origin, but known to be sung in the Gullah culture of the islands off South Carolina and Georgia, with ties to enslaved West Africans. The song is thought to have spread from the islands to other Southern states and the North, as well as other places in the world. The first known recording, of someone known only as H. Wylie, who sang in the Gullah dialect, was recorded by folk enthusiast Robert Winslow Gordon in 1926. It later became a standard campfire song in Scouting and summer camps and enjoyed broader popularity during the folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kum-Ba-Yah (Fingerstyle) - Helmut Bickel

Adder:	Cindy Green [ BigGreenC ]
Date:	7/13/2012
Updated:	12/17/2025
Tab by:	BigGreenC
Rated:	(4) Hot! Popular!
Views:	2860
pdf Hits:	1671