In The Ghetto | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb :||
Verse 1
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
As the snow flies.
| Dm7 | Eb F |
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’ a poor little baby child is born.
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
In the ghetto.
Verse 2
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
And his mama cries.
| Dm7 | Eb F |
‘Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need it’s another little hungry mouth to feed.
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
In the ghetto.
Bridge 1
| F | Eb Bb |
People, don’t you understand, the child needs a helping hand.
| Eb F | Bb |
Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man someday.
| F | Eb Bb |
Take a look at you and me, are we too blind to see?
| Eb Dm7 | Cm7 F7 | 2/4 F7 | 4/4
Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?
Verse 3
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
Well, the world turns.
| Dm7 | Eb F |
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose plays in the street as the cold wind blows.
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
In the ghetto (in the ghetto).
Verse 4
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
And his hunger burns.
| Dm7 | Eb F |
So he starts to roam the streets at night and he learns how to steal and he learns how to fight.
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
In the ghetto (in the ghetto).
Bridge 2
| F | Eb Bb |
Then one night in desperation, the young man breaks away.
| Eb Dm7 | Cm7 F7 |
He buys a gun, steals a car, tries to run, but he don’t get far.
Verse 5
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
And his mama cries.
| Dm7 | Eb F |
As a crowd gathers ’round an angry young man, face down on the street with a gun in his hand.
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
In the ghetto (in the ghetto).
Verse 6
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
And as her young man dies.
| Dm7 | Eb F | 2/4 F |
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’, another little baby child is born.
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
In the ghetto (in the ghetto).
Outro
||: Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb :||
And his mama cries (in the ghetto).
(In the ghetto) (Ah).
In The Ghetto chords, progressions, and TAB
Elvis‘s In The Ghetto is played diatonically in the key of Bb. The main riff ads and takes away a sus4 extension. The verse then goes to chord III – IV – V, like this:
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
| Dm7 | Eb F |
| Bb Bbsus4 | Bb Bbsus4 Bb |
In verse 6, the F is held for another two beats and slowed down (ritardando).
The two bridge sections are different in length, the first is much longer as it goes:
| F | Eb Bb |
| Eb F | Bb |
| F | Eb Bb |
| Eb Dm7 | Cm7 F7 | 2/4 F7 |
The F is played, just like verse 6, for another two beats and slowed down.
The second bridge is shorter, cutting the two middle lines out, it also doesn’t hold the F7 at the end for as long.
The main riff is best displayed using TAB, like this:
In The Ghetto chords | Related pages
Five similar tunes
- The Drugs Don’t Work chords
- House Of The Rising Sun
- I Heard It Through The Grapevine chords
- One More Cup Of Coffee chords
- Suspicious Minds chords
Elvis Presley
Elvis didn’t just change music by popularising Rock N Roll and becoming the world’s first superstar, he changed the world.
Hits include Jailhouse Rock, Heartbreak Hotel, Don’t Be Cruel, Blue Suede Shoes In The Ghetto, Suspicious Minds, and (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear.
Elvis Presley on the web
