Steady, As She Goes | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: N.C :|| x4
||: Bm F# | A E :|| x7
Verse 1
||: Bm F# | A E :||
Find yourself a girl and settle down.
Live a simple life in a quiet town.
Chorus 1
||: Bm F# | A E :||
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes). So steady as she goes.
Instrumental 1
||: Bm F# | A E :||
Verse 2
Your friends have a shown a kink in the single life.
You’ve had too much to think, now you need a wife.
Chorus 2
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
So steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
Bridge 1
| G | A | B | B |
Well, here we go again, you’ve found yourself a friend that knows you well.
| G | A | E | E |
But no matter what you do, you’ll always feel as though you tripped and fell. So steady as she goes.
Instrumental 2
||: Bm F# | A E :||
Verse 3
When you have completed what you thought you had to do.
And your blood’s depleted to the point of stable glue.
Then you’ll get along.
And then you’ll get along.
Instrumental 3
| Bm | Bsus2 B5 |
Chorus 3
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
So steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
Bridge 2
Well, here we go again, you’ve found yourself a friend that knows you well.
But no matter what you do, you’ll always feel as though you tripped and fell. So steady as she goes.
Chorus 4
Steady as she goes.
Settle for a world, neither up or down (settle for a world, neither up or down).
Sell it to the crowd that is gathered ‘round (Sell it to the crowd that is gathered ‘round).
Settle for a girl, neither up or down (settle for a girl, neither up or down).
Sell it to the crowd that is gathered ‘round (sell it to the crowd that is gathered ‘round).
Instrumental 4
||: Bm | Bsus2 B5 :||
Chorus 5
So steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
Steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
So steady as she goes (steady as she goes).
||: Steady as she goes (are you steady now). :|| x5
| Bm | Bm |
Steady as she goes.
Steady, As He Goes Chords: How the Raconteurs Replace Minor with Major
No key signature contains all the chords found in Steady, As She Goes. This means that the chords either temporarily step outside the key or the key itself changes.
When this happens, we look for the chord that feels like “home” and then determine its Roman numeral designation.
Play around with the chords above, and you’ll quickly realise that the Bm chord feels like home—this is Aeolian, chord VI.
With this as our starting point, we can align the other chords accordingly.
The main looped chord progression is Bm – F# – A – E. When we use the SWS in the key of Bm, we see that both the F# and E should have been minor chords.
In Roman numerals, the progression is VI – IIIx – V – IIx—quite unusual.
When the next section appears, looping G – A, it feels much more familiar. This is a classic IV – V, number 2 on my top 10 chord progressions list.
But just when you think it’s all going to be diatonic, the B chord appears, not Bm. That’s a VIx, and the Raconteurs have now successfully replaced all minor chords with major ones from the key of Bm.
Here’s a chord chart.
Steady, As She Goes Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Download my chord chart to keep track of the arrangement as a PDF or iReal Pro file:
Evolving Sound: Jack White’s Transition from The White Stripes to The Raconteurs
After six studio albums with The White Stripes, Jack White teamed up with his friend Brendan Benson to form The Raconteurs.
They had a history of working together, as Jack’s most popular song, Seven Nation Army, had a B-side in Good to Me, a song written by Brendan.
Jack had also sung backing vocals on some of Brendan’s recordings. With The Raconteurs, they co-wrote all songs.
Formed in 2005, the debut album was released the following year, with their most well-known song, Steady, As She Goes, as the lead single.
The song was an immediate success worldwide, perhaps not topping the charts but climbing high in many countries—or territories, to use record label speak.
Critical acclaim was high, with Rolling Stone magazine ranking it as the second-best song of the year, beaten only by Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy.
The following year, Steady, As She Goes was nominated for a Grammy, but it lost out to Dani California by The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
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