Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Great Apes: Guitar Chords

Learn to play 'The Great Apes' on your guitar with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

Learn The Great Apes Guitar Chords and Lyrics by Red Hot Chili Peppers

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the guitar chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform 'The Great Apes' smoothly on your guitar.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

        Am              G
She's a box car rollin' by
       Am                  G
Like a black star in the sky
        Am                G
She's a failure once or twice
       Am                              G
Like a trailer spinnin' out upon dizzy ice

Am                       G
Flowers fly when we grow old
Am                         G
Snakes get high, or so I'm told
         Am                G
She's an eagle out on the road
        Am                                   G
Like my favorite Beatle everyone bought and sold

Chorus:
F                   C
All of my love and half my kisses
F                C
Superstar don't do the dishes
A#               Dm                G
I just want the great apes to be free
F                 C
Come on now, you lazy cowboy
F                    C
Heads or tails, but not right now, boy
A#               Dm               G
I just want the great apes to be free

She's a rain bird on the prowl
Like an urge to be yourself that you won't allow
She's a forest that we burned
Just a blueprint for a life that we had never learned

Flowers fly when we grow old
Snakes get high, or so I'm told
She's a lynch mob on the street
Take another step and I will kill the beat

Chorus

         Am                G
She's a bus stop, glockenspiel
         Am                                   G
She's a simulation life that you thought was real
      Am                 G
She's an image that we blurred
        Am                            G
It's a pixelated panther, now let it purr

Chorus

I just want the great apes to be free
I just want the great apes to be free


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Am

Guitar chord Am

A#

Guitar chord A#

C

Guitar chord C

Dm

Guitar chord Dm

F

Guitar chord F

G

Guitar chord G

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play 'The Great Apes' on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for 'The Great Apes' by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Red Hot Chili Peppers Song List