Song chords
Living Hope chords
Phil Wickham
An Easter ballad recorded in Eb, one fret above D, so every practical guitar chart is capo 1 with D shapes. The verse is a long sentence over four chords and the chorus is the same four rearranged so the minor lands on the hook.
Before you start
The chords you need.
4 shapes covers the whole song, fretted with the capo at fret 1. Tap any diagram’s play button to hear it, or open its page for every voicing on six instruments.
The chart
Section by section.
Capo 1 with D shapes: D sounds as Eb, G as Ab, A as Bb and Bm as Cm. The A is usually played as an Asus4 resolving to A — that suspension is the recording's fingerprint. Hit play on any section to hear it walk through at 68 bpm.
Verse
10 barsTwo long lines: I–V, then IV–vi–V, and back home.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Chorus
7 barsOpens on the IV; the Bm is where the melody peaks.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Outro
4 barsWalks up instead of resolving — the last thing you hear on the record.
Shapes as fretted with the capo on — the names above are what you grab, not what you hear.
Need it in a different key, or without the capo? Run it through the transposer — move every chord by the same interval and the song is unchanged.
Playing it
What actually trips people up.
The verse changes twice a line and the chorus once. Practise them at different densities, because playing the verse as busily as the chorus is the fastest way to flatten the build.
The chart above is the commonly played arrangement — the version a competent player would hand you, not a bar-for-bar transcription of a specific master. Section labels are there to orient you; live and studio versions repeat, extend and drop sections freely, and none of that changes which chords you need.
About this page
Chord names and song structure are facts; for lyrics and official notation, support the artist. This page carries no lyrics on purpose — Living Hope was written and recorded by Phil Wickham, and the words belong to them. What you get here is the harmony: the key, the capo, the tempo, and which chord goes where.
Next
Songs that sit near this one.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask.
What key is Living Hope in?
Living Hope sounds in Eb Major. The common arrangement gets there with a capo at fret 1 and D Major shapes, which is why the chords written here are D Major chords rather than Eb Major ones.
Do I need a capo for Living Hope?
Yes for the standard arrangement: capo 1. Without it you would be playing Eb Major shapes, which needs barre chords. With the capo on, the shapes are D Major — much friendlier under the hand.
What chords are in Living Hope?
D, A, G and Bm — 4 chords across 3 sections. Capo 1 with D shapes: D sounds as Eb, G as Ab, A as Bb and Bm as Cm. The A is usually played as an Asus4 resolving to A — that suspension is the recording's fingerprint.
What is the easiest way to play Living Hope?
Beginner overall. The verse changes twice a line and the chorus once. Practise them at different densities, because playing the verse as busily as the chorus is the fastest way to flatten the build.
How fast is Living Hope?
About 68 bpm. Every section on this page plays back at that tempo, so you can hear how long each chord is meant to be held before you try it yourself.
Can I play Living Hope in a different key?
Yes — the progression is the song, not the letters. Move every chord by the same number of semitones and it still works. The transposer will do the arithmetic, or you can move the capo and keep these shapes.