Bullet In The Head | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: E7 :|| x4
Verse 1
||: E7 | E7 :||
This time the bullet cold rocked ya. A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika.
Nothing proper about ya propaganda. Fools follow rules when the set commands ya.
Said it was blue, when ya blood was read. That’s how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head.
Blasted through ya head, blasted through ya head.
I give a shout out to the living dead. Who stood and watched as the feds cold centralized.
So serene on the screen you was mesmerized. Cellular phones sounding a death tone.
Corporations cold turn ya to stone before ya realize.
They load the clip in omnicolour. Said they pack the nine, they fire it at prime time.
Sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz. And mutha fuckas lost their minds.
Chorus 1
| (E G) A5 | A5 (B G A) |
Just victims of the in-house drive-by.
| E5 | E5 bend (E G) |
They say jump, you say how high.
| A5 | (B G A) E5 |
Just victims of the in-house drive-by.
| E5 | 2/4 E5 |
They say jump, you say how high. Run it!
Instrumental 1
||: E7 :|| x8
Chorus 2
Just victims of the in-house drive-by.
They say jump, you say how high.
Just victims of the in-house drive-by.
They say jump, you say how high. Checka, checka, check it out.
Verse 2
They load the clip in omnicolor. Said they pack the nine, they fire it at prime time.
The sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz. And mutha fuckas lost their mind.
No escape from the mass mind rape. Play it again Jack and then rewind the tape.
And then play it again and again and again. Until ya mind is locked in.
Believing all the lies that they’re telling ya. Buying all the products that they’re selling ya.
They say jump and ya say how high. Ya brain-dead. Ya gotta fuckin’ bullet in ya head.
Chorus 3
| (E G) A5 | A5 (B G A) |
Just victims of the in-house drive-by.
| E5 | E5 bend (E G) |
They say jump, you say how high. Yeah.
| A5 | (B G A) E5 |
Just victims of the in-house drive-by.
| 2/4 E5 |
They say jump, you say how high.
Instrumental 2
||: E5 (D A Bb A G A G E) :|| x3
| E5 (D A Bb A G A G) N.C |
||: E5 (D A Bb A G A G E) :|| x12
Uggh! Yeah! Yea!
Outro
||: E5 (D A Bb A G A G E) :||
You standing in line, believing the lies.
You bowing down to the flag, you gotta bullet in ya head.
You standing in line, believing the lies.
You bowing down to the flag, you gotta bullet in ya head.
||: A bullet in ya head :|| x15
Ya gotta bullet in your fucking head!
End
||: E5 :|| x5
Yeah! Yeah!
Bullet In The Head Chords: Decoding the Riff and Progressions
Bullet in the Head was released as a single from Rage Against The Machine’s 1992 debut album. The title reflects the band’s belief that the government uses mainstream media to manipulate the population. This track was carried over from the demo version and remains largely unchanged on the album.
The verse mainly revolves around a static I chord, in line with the #6 Top 10 chord progressions. The song doesn’t rely much on chord changes, keeping the focus on rhythm and groove.
It’s in the chorus that we hear some movement, with the bass shifting from an E to an A chord. The notes used are from the E minor pentatonic scale, with a b9 achieved by bending from the open E to an F behind the nut (as shown in the video guitar lesson above).
Another tune that uses the minor pentatonic with a b9 is Band Of Gold, if you can hear similarities like this in songs stylistically that far apart, you have come a long way.
In the final section (breakdown/solo/outro) we take the minor pentatonic riff up a notch, using the minor blues scale. This scale is also found in the riff for Sunshine of Your Love.
Just like with Band Of Gold, comparing these two riffs can help you grasp the subtle differences and techniques used. The video guitar lesson featuring Rory O’Brien provides a closer look at the riffs from the original recording.
Here’s a chord chart, this will help you remember the unusual structure.
Bullet In The Head Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
My chord chart can be downloaded in two formats, as a static PDF, just like you see above, or as an iReal Pro file, which you can use the app to manipulate.
You can change the key using the app, although in this case I really can’t see that working. What you could do is change the layout.
My version had a main aim, to keep Bullet IN The Head’s chords on one page, maybe that’s not your main priority.
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