Chords + Lyrics | Jailhouse Rock (tune down 1/2)
Intro
| N.C Eb | E | E Eb | E | E Eb |
Verse 1
||: E | E Eb :||
The warden threw a party in the county jail.
The prison band was there and they began to wail.
The band was jumpin’ and the joint began to swing.
| E N.C | N.C |
You should’ve heard those knocked-out jailbirds sing.
Chorus 1
| A (A6) | A (A6) | E (E6) | E (E6) |
Let’s rock. Everybody, let’s rock.
| B (B6) | A (A6) |
Everybody in the whole cell block.
| E (E6) | E Eb |
Was dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock.
Verse 2
Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone.
Little Joe was blowin’ on the slide trombone.
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang.
The whole rhythm section was a purple gang.
Chorus 2
Let’s rock. Everybody, let’s rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block.
Was dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock.
Verse 3
Number 47 said to number 3:
“You’re the cutest jailbird I ever did see.
I sure would be delighted with your company.
Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me”.
Chorus 3
Let’s rock. Everybody, let’s rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block.
Was dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock, Rock, Rock.
Solo
| A A6 | A7 A6 | E E6 | E7 E6 |
| B B6 | A A6 | E E6 | E7 Eb |
Verse 4
Sad Sack was sittin’ on a block of stone.
Way over in the corner weepin’ all alone.
The warden said, “Hey, buddy, don’t you be no square.
If you can’t find a partner, use a wooden chair”.
Chorus 4
Let’s rock. Everybody, let’s rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block.
Was dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock.
Verse 5
Shifty Henry said to Bugs, “For Heaven’s sake.
No one’s lookin’, now’s the chance to make a break”.
Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, “Nix nix.
I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks”.
Chorus 6
Let’s rock. Everybody, let’s rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block.
Was dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock.
Outro
||: E (E6) | E (E6) :||
||: Dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock :|| to fade
Jailhouse Rock Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Jailhouse Rock. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, piano, and vocals intact.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 443Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
The band is tuned down to Eb. To play along with Elvis and the gang, use a chromatic tuner to reach the Eb tuning.
Once you’re in tune, you’ll discover that there are two main sections in Jailhouse Rock. Both are deceptively simple, but getting the chord shapes right is key to recreating the original sound.
Verse
The chords slide into the I chord like this:
||: E | E Eb :||
You’ll need the TAB to get the slide just right, you can indulge yourself in my findings further down this guitar lesson.
Chorus
For the chorus, focus on playing 8th notes while the bass plays 1/4 notes. To achieve this, use the open A and E strings—this is why tuning down a half-step to Eb is necessary. Without that, it won’t sound quite right.
If you don’t want to tune your guitar down or lack a second guitar, consider using a Digitech Drop pedal or simply play in the key of E without tuning down (I’ve got a backing track for this above).
The chorus progression starts on the IV chord and follows a basic 8-bar blues format, like this:
| A (IV) A6 | A A6 | E (I) E6 | E (I) E6 |
| B (V) B6 | A (IV) A6 | E (I) E6 | E Eb |
If you’d prefer to play this in the same key as The Blues Brothers – as many covers bands do – tune back up to standard tuning and transpose all chords to D. Here’s what that looks like:
Jailhouse Rock verse chords in D:
| N.C C# ||: D | D C# :|| D N.C | N.C |
Jailhouse Rock chorus chords in D:
| G (G6) | G (G6) | D (D6) | D (D6) |
| A (A6) | G (G6) | D (D6) | D C# |
Here’s a chord chart in the key of E.
Jailhouse Rock Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Jailhouse Rock chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Jailhouse Rock chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Jailhouse Rock | TAB
The verse uses a C-shaped Eb – E chord but ignores the root on string 5 – leave that to the bass player!
It looks like this in TAB:
The chorus features a driving 8th-note bass line, while the actual bass player plays in quarter notes. If you analyse the intervals, it’s similar to a honky tonk pattern (think Chuck Berry!), except this time it outlines the arpeggio and adds the 6.
For the solo section, the bass line evolves again – now incorporating the b7 to further develop the honky tonk idea:
when you cna play the TAB, try it along with my backing tracks, using the chord chart, tuned down – or not!
Jailhouse Rock Chords: Continue Learning
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