Born Under A Bad Sign | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| (Gb Ab B Db E) | Db7 | Db7 |
Chorus 1
| Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7 (Gb G) |
Born under a bad sign, I’ve been down since I began to crawl.
| Ab7 | Gb7 | Db7 | Db7 |
If it wasn’t for bad luck, you know I wouldn’t have no luck at all.
Verse 1
| Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7 |
Hard luck and trouble, is my only friend, I’ve been on my own, ever since I was ten.
Chorus 2
Born under a bad sign, I’ve been down since I began to crawl.
If it wasn’t for bad luck, you know I wouldn’t have no luck at all.
Verse 2
I can’t read, haven’t learned how to write, my whole life has been one big fight.
Chorus 3
Born under a bad sign, I’ve been down since I began to crawl.
If it wasn’t for bad luck, I say I wouldn’t have no luck at all. I ain’t no lyin’.
Solo
| Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7 |
Aw!
Turnaround
| Ab7 (G7) | Gb7 (G7) |
You know if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no kinda luck.
| Ab7 (G7) | Gb7 N.C | Db7 | Db7 |
If it wasn’t for real bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.
Verse 3
You know wine and women, is all I crave, a big-legged woman is gonna carry me, to my grave.
Chorus 4
Born under a bad sign, I’ve been down since I began to crawl.
If it wasn’t for bad luck, I tell I wouldn’t have no luck at all.
Outro
| Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7 |
Yeah, I’m a bad luck boy, been havin’ bad luck all of my days, yes.
Born Under A Bad Sign Chords: Learn the progressions
Albert King‘s biggest hit, Born Under a Bad Sign, was written by Booker T. Jones and recorded with his band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s—the house band of the Stax label. Also featured on this now-legendary recording were the iconic Memphis horns.
Released in 1967, the song didn’t make a major impact on the charts, but it has since become a blues standard, covered by countless artists. Cream recorded their version just a year later, and Albert himself included it on nearly all his greatest hits compilations, live albums, and collaborations.
Using the chords, lyrics, and video lesson above, you can learn how to play Albert King’s signature song.
Unlike a traditional blues, the chord progression skips the usual I–IV movement, instead staying on chord I before jumping straight to chord V for the turnaround:
| Db7 | Db7 | Db7 | Db7 (Gb G) |
| Ab7 | Gb7 | Db7 | Db7 |
This small change sets Born Under a Bad Sign apart, demonstrating how a subtle twist on the familiar can make a song stand out.
To achieve Albert’s signature huge bends, it helps to flip the guitar upside down and bend towards the floor, just as he did. But perhaps tuning down a semitone is enough, use my free online guitar tuner to get there.
Here’s a chord chart I made for you.

Born Under A Bad Sign Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
You can download my chord chart for Born Under A Bad Sign in two formats:
Using the app for iReal Pro, you can change the key and as tempting as that may seem (getting away from the key of Db for example!), how are you going to get that low E in the intro?
Born Under A Bad Sign Chords | Related Pages
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
Booker T. & The M.G.’s tunes
Led by piano and organ player Booker T. Jones, the Stax Records house band played behind numerous legendary artists.
Hits include Green Onions, Born Under A Bad Sign, Dock Of The Bay, Ain’t No Sunshine, Soul Man, Hold On I’m Coming, Knock On Wood, and Respect.
Booker T. & The M.G.’s on the web
Albert King tunes
With his upside-down Flying V, huge bends, and imposing nature, Albert King is a legend among legends.
Most great blues guitar players cite the “Velvet Bulldozer” as one of their main influences.
Albert King on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Born Under A Bad Sign chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.