Your current go-to songs...

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bikemech

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What are the two songs you seem to play most whenever you pick up your ukulele?

Of course, our habits and preferences change over the days, weeks, months, and years as we learn new material but I want to know what you commonly play today. Likely, these are songs played from memory without the need to have the music in front of you.

As for me:

1. Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice" (fingerpicking, with singing)
2. Stevie Wonder's "A Place in the Sun" (strumming and singing, as played by Richard Hefner of EZfolk)

Admission- I do not have the lyrics memorized for either song.
 
Robert Johnson's Crossroads- finger picked and chords; Ain't She Sweet- strummed; they help to linger up my hands before each session.
 
Okay, just at home playing my ukulele and entertaining myself, I don't really have a go to song. But if someone asks me to play something, I always start out with Oh Lord Won't You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz, or Don't Worry, Be Happy. The reason is that I can do a reasonable good job of either of those cold, right out of the box, and they are both good warm ups for me. The one that I never ever play cold, is Margaritaville. Don't Think Twice is in our playlist and I like that song but I don't usually think of it as one to start out with. Admission, I do have those all committed to memory. I like to have a repertoire of songs that I can just knock off from memory if someone asks me to play something for them.
 
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Dylan's, The Times They Are A Changing. Strum the chords.
The Beatles, In My Life. Soloing
 
Zac Brown Band -- Toes
Jimmy Buffett -- A Pirate looks at 40
Beethoven -- Fur Elise
 
It's really hard to pick two songs - I tend to learn bits of several at a time and then just string those together when I'm noodling. I'm not sure that I could play anything all the way through without looking at a chord sheet :p Maybe something that I know all the words to and that has really simple chords like The Wild Rover or The Wild Mountain Thyme (anything wild basically). Thinking about it I'm sure I could get through Scarborough Fair without looking at a sheet too. I think I may be somewhat misrepresenting myself as a beardie folkie type with these answers... ;)
 
I play bass uke with The CC Strummers and we have about 200 songs in our songbooks (many that have already been mentioned). So that I can keep my hands on my tenor ukes, I will pick up one as often as I can at home and play two songs I've committed to memory, Iz's version of "Over the Rainbow" because when I first started playing the uke almost four years ago, it was very difficult for me to follow his strum pattern (even though I played rhythm guitar for almost 50 years) and I finally got it after months, and "Sway" because I like doing the gliss finger strum like a classical guitarist. (I actually know "King of the Road" as well, oh, and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight.")
 
What I play when i just grab a uke is constantly changing. I play in an ensemble so we are always learning a new song and I spend most my time on that.

But for pure pleasure at the kitchen table

*Hotel California by Eagles, finger picking the intro, strum the rest, low G tenor
* Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd, same layout as above
*When I'm 64, Beatles, great strumming song on reentrant soprano
*I'm Yours, Jason Maraz , same as above.

These are all memorized and lots more. I don't know why I can memorize songs but I have no idea where I placed my car keys:p Great thread by the way as others favorites have given me some great ones to learn, thanks.
 
A lot of great responses so far. It is apparent that many of you are far more accomplished musicians than I, in fact I hesitate to call myself a musician at all. I am more of a uke-butcher. ;)

My hope is that we can all use the responses as "food-4-thought " when it comes to choosing new material to work on.
 
DownUpDave said:
I play in an ensemble so we are always learning a new song and I spend most my time on that.
Click to expand...

I didn't know you played in an ensemble! Since I do too, I'd love to see or hear what yours is working on.

Same story here - most of my playing time is devoted to my ensemble, or originals for the trio I play in. If someone asks me to play something or if I'm testing out ukes in a shop, my go-to is usually one of those originals.
 
I just started playing the Baritone a few weeks ago. I am currently getting pretty good with "Red River Valley". The chords are easy on the Baritone. It is also easy for me to sing.
 
Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is the song my cats recognize from the chord intro. G-Am-C-G twice through and the cats come running to compete over who gets my lap. It's my vocal warmup: sing the first verse and chorus on melody, the next on harmony a third up, then harmony a fifth up, then melody in the high octave. After which I'm ready to sing pretty much anything I have any business singing in the first place. Sometimes Sid the Cat helps with the high octave. (Sid is not my userpic-- that's Bruce who passed in 2010 -- but when Sid sings it's the same general effect.)

My go-to song when somebody wants to listen (and I want to show off) is "I'll See You in My Dreams." My go-to for leading a group without a songsheet is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" because I refuse to accept anybody who's owned a uke for more than 2 weeks telling me they can't manage to play C-F-C-G7 and repeat the single word "wimoweh" from memory.

The music teacher at my son's middle school told the kids to "always have a song in your pocket." I think that's wonderful advice for everybody. Even if it's "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," that's cool. Own it. :cool:
 
Ain't She Sweet: the first tune I learnt some forty years ago. I play it in whatever style my mood takes me. Next is usually the tune I'm currently learning. A this moment it's After You've Gone jazzy finger-picking.
 
Stagolee (Mississippi John Hurt), Life of a millionaire (Clapton), 2 cigarettes in an ashtray (Patsy Cline), Another Mans Cause (Levellers) and Whats Up (4 non blondes).
And whatever I'm trying to learn....

oops just realised meant to be just 2; - the first two.
 
This week they are The Judge and Ride by Twenty One Pilots. My daughter is learning to play the ukulele, and those are two of her favorites. Those two songs have some neat timing twists, and use super common chords. I appreciate hearing something fresh with the same old chords.
Next week, there may be two more. I have a running playlist on Spotify that I keep adding to. I like playing along with the recordings for fun, it currently has 13 songs on it. The list is ever expanding and shrinking. I find myself working the most on the techniques and lessons I am learning from Ukulele Underground.
 
I don't have two particular songs I play when I pick up my uke.

I do have a number of songs committed to memory and I like to cycle through them from time to time to keep them fresh and that's what I'll often do when I pick up my uke.
 
I never thought about it, but it seems like I gravitate to "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate" whenever I'm just noodling around...
And Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing On My Mind"; a twelve-bar blues in A pops up frequently
 
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