In Hell I'll Be in Good Company (uke arrangement)

The Dead South’s In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company is a banjo-and-cello murder ballad that has no business being so damn catchy. It lurks in Gm, marches along on an off-beat strum, and is held together by a whistled hook and a banjo riff that gets everyone stomping along. I saw them perform at The Usher Hall earlier in the year and I knew it was a perfect candidate for a ukulele strum-a-long.

I worked this arrangement for Routes & Rhythms — UkeHoot’s 2025 Edinburgh Fringe show. The transcription below splits the parts out so a roomful of ukes can cover the original’s banjo, cello and vocal lines between them: melody/strumming ukes carry the chords and whistling, a baritone takes the cello’s walking line, and a banjo-uke handles the rolling banjo riff.

You can hear the original on Spotify: In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company — The Dead South. And find out more about UkeHoot at ukehoot.net.

In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company was written by Colton Crawford, Nate Hilts, Danny Kenyon and Scott Pringle, and released by The Dead South on their 2014 album Good Company (© 2014 Curve Music). The lyrics and the underlying composition remain the property of their copyright holders. The arrangement below is an unofficial fan transcription, shared for personal study and non-commercial performance — no claim of ownership is made over the song itself.

Chords & lyrics

[bass/baritone only]
(Gm) (Gm)

[whistling (w/melody ukes only)]
(Gm) | (Gm) | (Gm)      | (F)
(Gm) | (Cm) | (Gm) (D7) | (Gm)

[banjo riff, strumming]
(Gm) | (Gm) | (F) (D7) | (Gm)

(Gm) Dead love couldn't go no further
(Gm) Proud of and disgusted by her
(Gm) Push, shove, a little bruised and battered
(F) Oh Lord I ain't (D7) coming home with (Gm) you

(Gm) My life's a bit more colder
(Gm) Dead wife is what I told her
(Gm) Brass knife sinks into my shoulder
(F) Oh babe don't know (D7) what I'm gonna (Gm) do   [banjo interlude]

[off-beat strum]
(D7 single strum / bass run) | (Gm) | (Gm)

[off-beat strum]
I see my (Gm) red head, messed bed, tear shed, queen bee - my squeeze (Gm)
The stage it (Gm) smells tells, hell's bells, misspells, knocks me on my (F) knees
It didn't (Gm) hurt flirt, blood squirt, stuffed shirt, hang me on a (Cm) tree
After I (Gm) count down, three rounds, in (D7) hell I'll be in good company (Gm)

[banjo riff, strumming]
(Gm) | (Gm) | (F) (D7) | (Gm)

(Gm) Dead love couldn't go no further
(Gm) Proud of and disgusted by her
(Gm) Push, shove, a little bruised and battered
(F) Oh Lord I ain't (D7) coming home with (Gm) you

(Gm) My life's a bit more colder
(Gm) Dead wife is what I told her
(Gm) Brass knife sinks into my shoulder
(F) Oh babe don't know (D7) what I'm gonna (Gm) do   [banjo interlude]

[off-beat strum]
(D7 single strum / bass run) | (Gm) | (Gm)

[off-beat strum]
I see my (Gm) red head, messed bed, tear shed, queen bee - my squeeze (Gm)
The stage it (Gm) smells tells, hell's bells, misspells, knocks me on my (F) knees
It didn't (Gm) hurt flirt, blood squirt, stuffed shirt, hang me on a (Cm) tree
After I (Gm) count down, three rounds, in (D7) hell I'll be in good company (Gm)

[banjo riff, strumming]
(Gm) | (Gm) | (F) In hell I'll be in (D7) good company |
(Gm) | (Gm) | (F) In hell I'll be in (D7) good company |

[off-beat strum]
(Gm) | (Gm)

[whistling, off-beat strum]
(Gm) | (Gm) | (Gm)      | (F)
(Gm) | (Cm) | (Gm) (D7) | (Gm)

Baritone ukulele tab

Transposed from the original cello part — this is the walking bass line that drives the verses.

[Intro]
 Gm                Gm
E|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|-
B|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|-
G|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|-
D|-5---0---5---0---|-5---0---5---0---|-


[Whistling Verse]
 Gm                Gm                Gm                F
E|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---1---1---1---1-|
B|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---1---1---1---1-|
G|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---2---2---2---2-|
D|-5---0---5---0---|-5---0---5---0---|-5---0---5---0---|-3---3---3---3---|

 Gm                Cm                Gm        D7        Gm
E|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---2---2-|---3---3---3---3-|-
B|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---1---1-|---3---3---3---3-|-
G|---3---3---3---3-|---4---4---4---4-|---3---3---2-2-2-|---3---3---3---3-|-
D|-5---0---5---0---|-5---5---5---5---|-5---0---0-------|-5---0---5---0---|-


[Pre-verse]
 Gm                 Gm                F         D7        Gm
E|----3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---1---1---2---2-|---3---3---3---3-|--
B|----3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---1---1---1---1-|---3---3---3---3-|--
G|----3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---2---2---2---2-|---3---3---3---3-|--
D|--5---0---5---0---|-5---0---5---0---|-3---3---0---0---|-5---0---5---0---|--


[Verse] (x2)
 Gm                Gm                Gm                F         D7        Gm
E|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---1---1---2---2-|---3---3---3---3-|-
B|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---1---1---1---1-|---3---3---3---3-|-
G|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|---2---2---2---2-|---3---3---3---3-|-
D|-5---0---5---0---|-5---0---5---0---|-5---0---5---0---|-3---3---0---0---|-5---0---5---0---|-


[Interlude]
 (n/c)             Gm                Gm
E|-----------------|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|--
B|-----------------|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|--
G|-----------------|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3---3-|--
D|-0-1-2-3-4-0-2-4-|-5---0---5---0---|-5---0---5---0---|--

Banjo-ukulele tab

Transposed from the banjo. The verse and interlude are approximations of the original’s rolls — close enough to sit under the strumming ukes.

[whistling]
 Gm                                  Gm
A|--0-1-3-|-5---5---5---5---5---5---5-3---|-----------|--
E|--------|-----------------------------6-|-3---------|--
C|--------|-------------------------------|-----------|--
G|--------|-------------------------------|-----------|--


 Gm        Gm                          F
A|--0-1-3-|-5---5---5---5---5---5---5-3---|-3---------|--
E|--------|-----------------------------6-|-----------|--
C|--------|-------------------------------|-----------|--
G|--------|-------------------------------|-----------|--


 F         Gm                          Cm
A|--0-1-3-|-5---5---5---5---5---5---5-3---|-8---------|--
E|--------|-----------------------------6-|-----------|--
C|--------|-------------------------------|-----------|--
G|--------|-------------------------------|-----------|--


 Cm        Gm                  D7        Gm
A|--0-1-3-|-5---5---5---5---5---5---5-3---|-----------|--
E|--------|-----------------------------6-|-3---------|--
C|--------|-------------------------------|-----------|--
G|--------|-------------------------------|-----------|--


[verse] (approximation of original banjo)
 Gm                                 F   D7
A|----------------------------------1---0----|-
E|-1h3---3----1h3---3----1h3---3----3---3----|-
C|-----2----------2----------2---------------|-
G|---------0----------0----------0----0---0--|-


[interlude]
 Gm                                                     (D7 - bass run)
A|-5p1----5p1----5p1----6p3----5p1----3p1-----------------|----
E|-----3------3------3------3------3------3--6p3-3--5---3-|-3--
C|----------------------------------------------------5---|----
G|--------------------------------------------------------|----


[chorus] (x = denotes un-played 1/8s)
 Gm                Gm                  Gm                Gm
A|---1---1---1---1-|---1---1---1----1---|---1---1---1---1-|---1---1---1----1---|
E|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3------3-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3------3-|
C|---2---2---2---2-|---2---2---2-----2--|---2---2---2---2-|---2---2---2-----2--|
G|-x---x---x---x---|-x---x---x---x-x----|-x---x---x---x---|-x---x---x---x-x----|


 Gm                F                   Gm                Cm
A|---1---1---1---1-|---0---0---0----0---|---1---1---1---1-|---3---3---3----1---|
E|---3---3---3---3-|---1---1---1------1-|---3---3---3---3-|---3---3---3------3-|
C|---2---2---2---2-|---0---0---0-----0--|---2---2---2---2-|---3---3---3-----2--|
G|-x---x---x---x---|-x-2-x-2-x-2-x-x----|-x---x---x---x---|-x---x---x---x-x----|


 Gm        D7        Gm
A|---1---1---3---3-|---1---1---1-----|
E|---3---3---2---2-|---3---3---3-----|
C|---2---2---0---0-|---2---2---2-----|
G|-x---x---x---x---|-x---x---x---x-x-|

Download

The full chart, both tabs, and the section notes are in one PDF: In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company (uke arrangement) — PDF.