Chords + Lyrics | Parklife
Intro
||: E | E Dmaj7sus2 Asus2 :|| x6
Oi!
Verse 1
||: E | E Dmaj7sus2 Asus2 :||
Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as (Parklife).
And morning soup can be avoided if you take a route straight through what is known as (Parklife).
John’s got brewer’s droop he gets intimidated by the dirty pigeons. They love a bit of him (Parklife).
Who’s that gut lord marching, you should cut down on your pork life mate, get some exercise.
Chorus 1
| E Bb5 B5 | B5 | E C5 B5 | B5 |
All the people. So many people.
| G D/F# | E D5 |
And they all go hand-in-hand.
| C G/B | A5 Bb5 | B5 | (B A G F#) |
Hand-in-hand through their Parklife. Know what I mean?
Instrumental 1
| E | E Dmaj7sus2 Asus2 | E | E A E N.C |
Verse 2
I get up when I want, except on Wednesdays when I get rudely awakened by the dustmen (Parklife).
I put my trousers on, have a cup of tea, and I think about leaving the house (Parklife).
I feed the pigeons, I sometimes feed the sparrows too, it gives me a sense of enormous well-being (Parklife).
And then I’m happy for the rest of the day, safe in the knowledge there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it.
Chorus 2
All the people. So many people.
And they all go hand-in-hand.
Hand-in-hand through their, Parklife.
Chorus tag
||: E A E | E Dmaj7sus2 Asus2 :||
Parklife (Parklife).
Parklife (Parklife).
Verse 3
||: E A E | E Dmaj7sus2 Asus2 :||
It’s got nothing to do with your Vorsprung Durch Technik you know? Parklife (Parklife).
And it’s not about you joggers who go round and round and round and round Parklife (Parklife).
Chorus 3
All the people. So many people.
And they all go hand-in-hand.
Hand-in-hand through their Parklife.
Chorus 4
All the people. So many people.
And they all go hand-in-hand.
| C G/B | A5 Bb5 | B5 | (B A G F#) | E |
Hand-in-hand through their Parklife.
Parklife Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Parklife. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, horns, 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 441Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
Blur‘s Parklife perfectly exemplifies how the quirky, London-based Britpop outfit differed from Manchester’s Oasis and their Wonderwall.
The chords may seem simple at first, but as you dig deeper, you’ll realise there’s much more to Parklife than it initially appears.
What stands out the most is how the band blends E Ionian with E Aeolian. Typically, modal interchange involves just one chord, but in Parklife’s chorus, it’s a constant blend!
Verse
The Dmaj7sus2 in the main riff could be considered a strange name, or it could simply be seen as the chord that follows it—an “Asus2 moved up a string.” This is a chord written through finger movement, not theory.
I’ve created some TAB to demonstrate this, first showing you how to play it in the open position and then at fret 12, find it further down this guitar lesson.
Chorus
For the chorus, as we move from Bb to B, we signal the E minor blues scale. Moving from C to B, we flirt with Aeolian again, but there’s never an Em chord—it’s always major, like this:
| E Bb5 B5 | B | E C5 B5 | B |
This blending of chords from a minor and major key creates the tension and attitude of the progression, perfectly matching the band’s image.
Once you’ve studied the TAB, played along with the backing tracks, and familiarised yourself with the chords and lyrics, this simple chord chart is all you’ll need to bring to a rehearsal or gig.
Parklife Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Parklife chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Parklife iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Parklife | TAB
Here’s TAB for the entire chorus (I’ve modified it slightly to suit a setup where you’re the only guitarist in the band).
Verse + Tag
The verse in Parklife is often TABBED and played correctly, but the chord names are usually labelled wrong. If you examine the intervals, you’ll find it’s actually: E – Dmaj7sus2 – Asus2.
This part was most likely written by simply “moving the fingers” in a logical way—then taking that idea up an octave to create the tune’s signature sound.
Here’s some TAB that shows how this pattern was probably discovered, and then adjusted into the final part:
Finally, there’s a chorus tag, which is the main riff repeated with an added A chord at the end. It looks like this:
Parklife Chords: Continue Learning
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