With its catchy melody, the Lava Song on ukulele is very easy to learn. Find out how in this article.
Written by Jay Searle / Published December 25, 2023
Last updated: April 10, 2024
Pixar never ceases to amaze its audience with gorgeous animations and arguably some of the catchiest tunes in the movie industry. “Lava” stands out among troves of Pixar titles with a beautifully arranged ukulele song most fans dubbed “Someone To Lava.”
In this article, we’ll dive deep into the Lava song uke chords and guide you through it from start to finish with simple yet comprehensive tabs, so let’s start from the top.
Song Tabs: Jump to Lava Song Tabs
Lava Song Chords Breakdown
If you’re a beginner ukulele player and are yet to learn the basic uke chords, we’ve got you covered. This section is dedicated to helping new learners grasp the simple chords used in the Lava song.
More experienced players who know the basics can play “Someone To Lava” with chords C, F, G7, and C7.
C Chord
The C Chord is the opening chord of each verse in the “Lava” song. It’s the ideal “beginner’s” chord since you only need to fret the note C in the third position of the A string while leaving all the other strings open to play it. Throughout the entire song, you’ll mainly use downstrokes when playing this chord.
Finger positioning:
- A: Ring finger on the 3rd fret
- E: Open
- C: Open
- G: Open
F Chord
Just a tad more complex than the C Chord, the F Chord starts off the second part of the verse and opens every chorus in the Lava song. It’s an essential beginner’s chord, albeit it requires two fingers to pull off.
Finger positioning:
- A: Open
- E: Index finger on the 1st fret
- C: Open
- G: Middle or Ring finger on the 2nd fret
G7 Chord
The G7 chord is in the middle of pretty much every part of the “Someone To Lava” song. It’s the second chord in verses and choruses, as well as in the outro. Its soothingly mellow sound makes it a perfect connecting tissue that bridges the melancholic F and the upbeat C.
Finger positioning:
- A: Middle finger on the 2nd fret
- E: Index finger on the 1st fret
- C: Ring finger on the 2nd fret
- G: Open
C7 Chord (Optional)
Some players love to embellish the “Lava” song with a C7 replacing the regular C in the half-time chorus. They sound remarkably similar, although the C7 gives the part a bit of a “happier” character. This chord is not needed to play the Lava song on ukulele, but it’s a nice addition to the standard C-F-G7 repetition without straying far from the original idea.
Finger positioning:
- A: Index finger on the 1st fret
- E: Open
- C: Open
- G: Open
Lava Song Chord Progressions
The “Someone To Lava” tune is a relatively straightforward tune, but it has a few quirky parts that aren’t too common in movie tracks. Before we dive into chord progressions and parts in this song, we want to share a few tips that might make playing Lava Song on Ukulele a bit easier for you.
- The verses are composed in 4/4 measures, but there’s an extra 2/4 instrumental part at the end of each bar. Don’t be confused by the fact that certain progressions feature five chords.
- Memorizing the lyrics of “Lava Song” can help you learn the strumming patterns more quickly. In most cases, the patterns change along with ascents and descends in vocals.
- Purely instrumental parts that come after the choruses are played at half-time (32.5 BPM instead of 75 BPM). Note that this change in pace lasts throughout the first part of the second verse as well before reverting to 75 BPM. Playing with a metronome might be tricky because of this.
- There is no instrumental bridge after the second chorus that you can use as a cue to slow down. Simply remember that you’re supposed to play the following parts at half-time.
Use these tips to navigate the Lava Song’s structure, but feel free to make use of whichever helpful habits or tricks help you learn the patterns. Speaking of which, let’s break down the chord progressions in the “Lava” song.
Verse: C-G7-F-C-G7
The entire verse is a loop consisting of the chords C, G7, F, C, and G7 again. There are six singing lines, each ending with a G7, so one way of memorizing when to “end” the loop is by simply counting the G7s that you’ve played.
The strumming patterns are exceedingly simple – start with a downstroke, follow it with an upstroke, and keep alternating between the two.
Chorus: F-C-G7-C & F-C-F-G7-C
The chorus consists of two chord progressions, or more specifically, one original, and one slight embellishment of the original progression.
The first is comprised of F, C, G7, and C chords with the same strumming patterns as the verse. The second part of the chorus features a small F chord inserted in the standard combination, although it’s shortened to two 1/4s. All chorus parts are played in the same fashion, apart from the final chorus, which is shortened to 4/4 and 2/4.
Outro: F-G7-C
When both male and female vocals sing “I Lava You” in unison, you’ll know that you’ve reached the end of the song. Simply play F, G7, and C with the same basic strumming patterns over the lyrics to close the curtain.
Lava Song Ukulele Tabs
Verse 1
C G7
A long, long time ago, there was a volcano.
F C G7
Living all alone, in the middle of the sea.
C G7
He sat high above his bay, watching all the couples play,
F C G7
And wishing that he had someone too.
C G7
And from his lava came this song of hope that he sang
F
out-loud every day,
C G7
For years and years.
Chorus
F C
I have a dream I hope will come true,
G7 C
That you’re here with me, and I’m here with you.
F C
I wish that the earth, sea, the sky up above
F G7 C
Will send me someone to lava.
Verse 2
C G7
Years of singing all alone turned his lava into stone,
F C G7
Until he was on the brink of extinction.
C G7
But little did he know that living in the sea below
F C G7
Another volcano was listening to his song.
C G7
Every day she heard his tune, her lava grew and grew,
F C G7
Because she believed his song was meant for her.
C G7
Now she was so ready to meet him above the sea,
F C G7
As he sang his song of hope for the last time.
Chorus
F C
I have a dream I hope will come true,
G7 C
That you’re here with me, and I’m here with you.
F C
I wish that the earth, sea, the sky up above
F G7 C
Will send me someone to lava.
Verse 3
C G7
Rising from the sea below stood a lovely volcano.
F C G7
Looking all around but she could not see him.
C G7
He tried to sing to let her know that she was not there alone,
F C G7
But with no lava his song was all done.
C G7
He filled the sea with his tears and watched his dreams disappear,
F C G7
As she remembered what his song meant to her.
Chorus
F C
I have a dream I hope will come true,
G7 C
That you’re here with me, and I’m here with you.
F C
I wish that the earth, sea, the sky up above
F G7 C
Will send me someone to lava.
Verse 4
C G7
Oh, they were so happy to finally meet above the sea,
F C G7
All together now their lava grew and grew.
C G7
No longer are they alone with Aloha as their new home,
F C G7
And when you visit them, this is what they sing.
Chorus 2
F C
I have a dream I hope will come true.
G7
That you’ll grow old with me,
C
And I’ll grow old with you.
F C
We thank the earth, sea, and sky we thank too.
Outro
F G7 C
I Lava You!
F G7 C
I Lava You!
F G7 C
I Lava You!
Final Words
This song is a beautifully simple tune of romance and an ideal introduction to the basics of ukulele chord play. We hope that our guide helped you learn how to play the Lava song on ukulele and that you’ll have as much fun with it as we did!
Jay Searle
Website Founder & WriterJay is a self-professed music nerd and ukulele lover. When not working on the website you’ll find him strumming along to his favorite tunes, spending time with his family, or learning to play the piano.
