Jailhouse Rock | Chords + Lyrics (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.
| E | E Eb |
The prison band was there and they began to wail.
| E | E Eb |
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
| E | E Eb |
Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone.
| E | E Eb |
Little Joe was blowin’ on the slide trombone.
| E | E Eb |
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang.
| E N.C | N.C |
The whole rhythm section was a purple gang.
Chorus 2
| 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 3
| E | E Eb |
Number 47 said to number 3:
| E | E Eb |
“You’re the cutest jailbird I ever did see.
| E | E Eb |
I sure would be delighted with your company.
| E N.C | N.C |
Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me”.
Chorus 3
| 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, Rock, Rock.
Solo
| A A6 | A7 A6 | E E6 | E7 E6 |
| B B6 | A A6 | E E6 | E7 Eb |
Verse 4
| E | E Eb |
Sad Sack was sittin’ on a block of stone.
| E | E Eb |
Way over in the corner weepin’ all alone.
| E | E Eb |
The warden said, “Hey, buddy, don’t you be no square.
| E N.C | N.C |
If you can’t find a partner, use a wooden chair”.
Chorus 4
| 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 5
| E | E Eb |
Shifty Henry said to Bugs, “For Heaven’s sake.
| E | E Eb |
No one’s lookin’, now’s the chance to make a break”.
| E | E Eb |
Bugsy turned to Shifty and he said, “Nix nix.
| E N.C | N.C |
I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks”.
Chorus 6
| 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 E6) |
Was dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock.
Outro
||: E (E6) | (E E6) :||
||: Dancin’ to the Jailhouse Rock :|| to fade
Jailhouse Rock Chords: Learn the progressions
On the original recording, the band is tuned down to Eb. Should you want to play along with it, you can use my free online chromatic tuner to get to Eb.
Once you’re in tune with Elvis and the gang, you’ll soon discover that there are two sections in Jailhouse Rock.
Both sections are seemingly simple, but you must get the chord shape right in order for it to sound like the original verse. The chords are just sliding into the I chord, like this:
||: E | E Eb :||
For the chorus, you need to play 8th notes as the bass player plays 1/4 notes. This needs to be played using open A and E strings, hence the need to tune down 1/2 step, playing in Eb just won’t sound right.
If you don’t have a spare guitar to keep in Eb and don’t want to tune down your guitar, try the Digitech drop pedal.
The chorus chord progression starts on chord IV and is much like an 8-bar blues, like this:
| A (A6) | A (A6) | E (E6) | E (E6) |
| B (B6) | A (A6) | E (E6) | E Eb |
Should you want to play all this in the same key as Blues Brothers, and many covers bands do, tune back up to standard tuning, then transpose all of Jailhouse Rock’s chords to the key of D.
Members get TAB for how to do all of this, here’s a link to the complete lesson: Jailhouse Rock – Guitar lesson with TAB.
Jailhouse Rock was supposed to be a joke song!
When Elvis released Jailhouse Rock in 1957, he was already a worldwide superstar with 8 previous #1’s.
Written by Lieber & Stoller for the movie with the same name, this was logically the lead single from the soundtrack EP.
The writers’ intention was that Jailhouse Rock was a tongue-in-cheek joke song with gay undertones, with verse 3 being:
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”.
But Elvis just sang it straight and nobody seemed to get the joke. I’m not sure anyone ever did!
Since its release, Jailhouse Rock has been an obvious choice for the working rock n’ roll band.
If you want to play guitar in this style, make sure you get the chord shapes right, that opening sliding chord must be a C shape as nothing else will sound right.
Jailhouse Rock Chords | Related Pages
Five similar tunes with chords and lyrics
- Blue Suede Shoes chords by Elvis
- Get Back chords by The Beatles
- I Saw Her Standing There chords by The Beatles
- Johnny B. Goode chords by Chuck Berry
- You Never Can Tell chords by Chuck Berry
Blues Brothers
The 1980 Musical Blues Brothers tells the story of a band “on a mission from God” to raise money for an orphanage.
Tunes include Gimme Some Lovin’, Rawhide, Shake A Tailfeather, Think, Minnie The Moocher, Soul Man, and Jailhouse Rock.
Blues Brothers on the web
Elvis Presley tunes
Elvis Presley 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
Rock n Roll & Early Pop
As popular music was starting to take shape, the earliest styles that came out of Jazz and Blues were Rock n Roll & Early Pop.
Learn tunes by The Beatles, Elvis, The Monkees, Chuck Berry, The Kinks, and The Rolling Stones.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Jailhouse Rock chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
