That’s Entertainment | Chords + Lyrics (Capo 3)
Intro
| G | Em | G | Em |
| Am | F | G | Em |
Verse 1
||: G | Em :||
A police car and a screaming siren.
A pneumatic drill and ripped up concrete.
A baby wailing, stray dog howling.
The screech of brakes and lamp light blinking.
Chorus 1
| Am | F | Am | F | G | Em |
That’s entertainment, that’s entertainment.
Verse 2
A smash of glass and the rumble of boots.
An electric train and a ripped-up phone booth.
Paint-splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat.
Lights going out and a kick in the balls.
Chorus 2
| Am | F | Am | F |
I say that’s entertainment, that’s entertainment.
| G | Em | G | Em |
Ah. La la la la la, ah. La la la la la, ah.
Verse 3
Days of speed and slow time Mondays (La la la la la, ah).
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday (La la la la la, ah).
Watching the news and not eating your tea (La la la la la, ah).
A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls (La la la la la, ah).
Chorus 3 (same as 1)
I say that’s entertainment, that’s entertainment.
Verse 4
Waking up at six AM on a cool warm morning.
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol.
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard.
Watching the tele and thinking about your holidays.
Chorus 4
| Am | F | Am | F |
That’s entertainment, that’s entertainment.
| G | Em | G | Em |
Ah. La la la la la, ah. La la la la la, ah.
| G | Em | Am | F | G | Em |
La la la la la, ah. La la la la la, ah.
Verse 5
Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes.
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume.
A hot summer’s day and sticky black tarmac.
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were far away.
Chorus 5 (same as 1 and 3)
That’s entertainment, that’s entertainment.
Verse 6
Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight.
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude.
Gettin’ in a cab and traveling on buses.
Reading the graffiti about slashed seat affairs.
Chorus 6
| Am | F | Am | F |
I said that’s entertainment, that’s entertainment.
Outro
||: G | Em | G | Em |
Ah. La la la la la, ah. La la la la la, ah.
| G | Em | Am | F :|| to fade
La la la la la, ah. La la la la la, ah.
That’s Entertainment Chords: Learn the progressions
That’s Entertainment is one of the best beginner songs for students wanting to play with a pick. All you have to do is learn how to fret four chords and then memorize two bars of rhythm.
The 16ths at the end of bar two are great for the beginner student’s development, it really gets them going, wanting to learn more as it presents a challenge, without being impossible.
Teaching this song, you can spend some time on the intro as once a student can play this, they basically know the entire song.
The chords are first I – VI (G – Em), and then II – bVIIx (Am – F), and back to I – VI, like this:
| G (I) | Em (VI) | G | Em |
| Am (II) | F (bVIIx) | G | Em |
If you play along with the original recording, don’t forget the capo on fret 3!
What’s interesting here is that we could see this as in the key of C instead. Using Roman Numerals, that looks like this:
| G (V) | Em (III) | G | Em |
| Am (VI) | F (IV) | G | Em |
Often, a beginner will want to nail down what the correct answer is, this is a natural trait when learning something new, but the great thing about music is that we often bend the rules a little bit.
It’s almost as if That’s Entertainment is in both the keys of G and C and if that’s not music theory entertainment, I don’t know what is!
I’ve made some TAB for you, detailing how to strum this English classic, it’s available here: That’s Entertainment – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you can play as the TAB says, a simple chord chart is all you need, here’s one I made for you.
That’s Entertainment Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
It may only be a few chords but the structure, and particularly the amount of repeats of G – Em do vary. It was challenging trying to explain this in a chord chart.
Perhaps what you see above only makes sense if you read it alongside listening to the original.
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: That’s Entertainment Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: That’s Entertainment iReal Pro.
Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key. Although i Don’t think that’s a great idea, the sound of That’s Entertainment really is in the chord shapes!
That’s Entertainment was the best-selling imported single in the U.K.!
National treasure Paul Weller’s band The Jam only released That’s Entertainment as a single abroad, resulting in it becoming the second biggest-selling import single in the U.K.
Describing the reality of life as a working-class citizen in the late ’70s/early ’80s, it has been hailed by the British press since the day it dropped.
BBC, who probably like Paul Weller more than anyone, even listed it as “the 43rd best song ever released by any artist”.
I’m more interested in chords, strumming patterns, and bridging key signatures than cultural impacts but maybe that’s just me!
That’s Entertainment Chords | Related Pages
That’s Entertainment | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this guitar lesson, you get a chord analysis and TAB for That’s Entertainment, a great beginner song with some fast strumming.
| G | Em |
A police car and a screaming siren…
Five Similar Tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- Don’t Look Back Into The Sun chords by The Libertines
- I Fought The Law chords by The Clash
- The One I Love chords by R.E.M.
- Teenage Kicks chords by The Undertones
- Town Called Malice chords by The Jam
The Jam tunes
Formed by Paul Weller and his classmates in 1972, The Jam was a Mod/punk/rock band that released albums between 1975 and 1982.
Their best tunes include Town Called Malice, Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, Going Underground, and That’s Entertainment.
The Jam on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about That’s Entertainment chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
