Neon Lights Ukulele Chords & Tips

💡 About the Song

“Neon Lights” is one of Kraftwerk’s most hypnotic and strangely human songs — six minutes of quiet wonder under electric glow.

It’s not cold like a lot of their work; it’s warm, romantic, even nostalgic. You can almost feel the hum of the city at night as the synths shimmer like reflected light on wet pavement.

When played on ukulele, it becomes something gently luminous — a lullaby for street lamps and lonely wanderers.

The chords are simple; the mood is everything.

🎸 Ukulele Playing Tips

We’ll play it in G major, which gives you open, ringing shapes and matches the calm brightness of the original.

You’ll need G, Em, C, and D.

Verse progression: [G] – [Em] – [C] – [D]

Chorus (“Neon lights, shimmering neon lights”): [Em] – [C] – [G] – [D]

Keep it slow and meditative, around 70 bpm, and play with a soft touch.

Strumming pattern: down–down–up–up–down–up or, for more atmosphere, fingerpick (pluck 4–3–2–1) and let each note breathe.

If you’ve got a low-G uke, use that bottom string to create a simple droning pulse — it mimics the gentle synth bass of the original.

Singing tip: Understate it. Sing softly, almost like you’re narrating the city to yourself. Imagine it’s midnight and you’re walking alone through empty streets, humming along with the streetlights.

💡 Trivia You Can Drop Casually

“Neon Lights” was released in 1978 as part of The Man-Machine, the album that solidified Kraftwerk’s futuristic aesthetic.
Despite its simplicity, the song influenced countless artists — from David Bowie to Coldplay (who covered it in 2003).
Bowie called Kraftwerk “the sound of the future” and used “Neon Lights” as a template for his Berlin Trilogy atmospheres.
The original was built around a single repeating synth pattern — a perfect minimalism that still feels modern today.
It’s one of the few Kraftwerk songs that’s unabashedly romantic, dedicated “to the beauty of the modern city.”