This is a good first mandolin song. Don’t translate the ukulele fingerings directly; rebuild the accompaniment using mandolin chord shapes.

1. Use standard mandolin tuning and a capo

Tune the mandolin G–D–A–E and put a capo on fret 1. That lets you use easy chord shapes while sounding in the recording’s original key. The song is essentially one repeating progression: Am – D7 – G – C – Cmaj7, sounding as B♭m – E♭7 – A♭ – D♭ – D♭maj7 with the capo. (Ukulala)

Mandolin chord shapes, written G–D–A–E, relative to the capo:

Chord	Shape
Am	2–2–3–0
D7	2–0–3–2
G	0–0–2–3
C	0–2–3–0
Cmaj7	0–2–2–0

The loop is:

| Am        | D7        | G         | C    Cmaj7 |

Give Am, D7 and G four beats each; give C and Cmaj7 two beats each. (Ukulala)

Without a capo, the same shapes work perfectly, but you’ll sound one semitone below the recording.

2. Learn it in this order

First, strum one downstroke per beat. Get the chord changes automatic, especially:

Am → D7 → G → C → Cmaj7

The C → Cmaj7 change is easy and important: move only the A-string finger from fret 3 to fret 2.

Next, play continuous alternating eighth notes:

1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
D U D U D U D U

Keep your wrist loose and use very little pick depth. Mandolin strings resist the pick more than ukulele strings, so forcing the strum will make it sound harsh.

3. Make it sound like “Elephant Gun”

Once the basic rhythm works:

• On downstrokes, emphasize the lower G and D courses.
• On upstrokes, emphasize the higher A and E courses.
• Let the chords ring rather than using a hard bluegrass chop.
• Accentuate beats 2 and 4 slightly.
• Play the verse relatively thin, then use fuller strums when the arrangement opens up.

That split between lower-string and upper-string strokes approximates the recording’s characteristic ukulele texture. Tutorials describe the original pattern as having a “two-down, two-up” feel, with different portions of the strings emphasized on different strokes. (Ukulala)

Start slowly with only the chord loop. Once you can sing over it without thinking, add the little melodic ornaments and horn melody. The song will already be recognizable before those additions.