John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” has become an unofficial, viral anthem of the 2026 World Cup. Early in May, I heard a ukulele duet from Block Island, Rhode Island declare that “Country Roads” is the number one song everybody in the world knows how to sing (from their experience of playing for tourists). So I arranged it in two different keys for my ukulele students. Now it’s timely to share “Take Me Home, Country Roads for ukulele” with you.
Boston is buzzing with World Cup fever. Switching on YouTube tonight, I learned that “Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong….” is sung everywhere.
Just last month, I had introduced “Take Me Home, Country Roads for ukulele” in two keys to my 8-week ukulele class. Upon completion of the free in-person course, each of the fourteen students received a copy of my book of love songs. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” is not a love song but a song of belonging and of longing for home.
In the video above, John Denver sings it in A major (from the Wild Life Concert).
It’s easier to play the five chords in the key of C major. However, I find it easier to sing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in G major. The instrumental introduction is fun to play so I’ve written it out with deliberate use of left-hand techniques for high G ukulele: ho = hammer-on ; sl = slide ; po = pull-off
The chorus in the song follows a common chord progression discussed in my latest book, The 80/20 Guide to Ukulele: Common Chord Progressions. In fact, it’s the same chord progression used in “Take On Me” by A-ha. Knowing the common chord progression and the preferred key will help you memorize the chords. The lyrics are easy, too.
In the one-page sheet music, I show different ways to accompany this song, from strumming to full fingerpicking.
Below, I show four different fingerpicking patterns that can be used for accompanying this song in C major. The italized and bolded single letter p indicates the right thumb in this case, not piano for soft in Italian.
World Cup Special
To join in the festivities, I’m giving the following sheets of Take Me Home, Country Roads for ukulele to anyone who owns a copy of my latest book The 80/20 Guide to Ukulele: Common Chord Progressions, which is available worldwide on Amazon. The launch price is good until end of the month (June 30th). Each of the following titles are on one-page PDF (US letter size). Just contact me for your request with proof of your purchase (even a photo of you holding the book will do!)
