Town Called Malice | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: (D B A) :|| x4 bass intro
||: D5 | D5 (D6) | D | D (D6) :|| keys intro
Verse 1
| F#m7 | F#m7 | Em | Em |
You better stop dreaming of the quiet life, ’cause it’s the one we’ll never know.
| F#m7 | F#m7 | Em | Em |
And quit running for that runaway bus, ’cause those rosy days are few.
| G | G | F#m7 | F#m7 |
And stop apologizing for the things you’ve never done.
| A | A | A7 | A7 |
‘Cause time is short and life is cruel, but it’s up to us to change.
Chorus 1
| D5 | D5 (D6) | D5 | D5 (D6) | D | D (D6) | D5 | D5 (D6) |
This town called Malice.
Verse 2
Rows and rows of disused milk floats, stand dying in the dairy yard.
And a hundred lonely housewives clutch empty milk bottles to their hearts.
Hanging out their old love letters on the line to dry.
It’s enough to make you stop believing, when tears come fast and furious.
Chorus 2
In a town called Malice, yeah.
Verse 3
Ba ba ba ba, ba da ba. Ba ba ba da ba.
Ba ba ba ba, ba da ba. Ba ba ba da ba.
Struggle after struggle, year after year.
The atmosphere’s a fine blend of ice I’m almost stone-cold dead.
Chorus 3
In a town called Malice, ooh yeah.
Middle 8
| C#m | C#m | Bm | Bm |
A whole street’s belief in Sunday’s roast beef.
| C#m | C#m | Bm | Bm |
Gets dashed against the Co-op.
| A | A | A7 | A7 |
To either cut down on beer or the kids new gear, it’s a big decision
Chorus 4 (half)
| D5 | D5 (D6) | D5 | D5 (D6) |
In a town called Malice, ooh yeah.
Breakdown
||: (D B A) :|| x4 (as bass intro)
| D5 | D5 (D6) | D | D (D6) | D5 | D5 (D6) |
Oooh.
Verse 4
The ghost of a steam train, echoes down my track.
It’s at the moment bound for nowhere, just going round and round, oh.
Playground kids and creaking swings, lost laughter in the breeze.
I could go on for hours and I probably will but I’d sooner put some joy back in.
Chorus 5
||: D5 | D5 (D6) | D5 | D5 (D6) :|| to fade
This town called Malice, yeah.
Oooh. In this town called Malice, yeah.
In this town called Malice, ooh yeah.
Town Called Malice Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Town Called Malice. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, 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?
The chords in Town Called Malice are cleverly constructed, featuring a key change and modal interchange. What I find especially interesting is that when Paul Weller plays an acoustic version, he alters the chord riff, more on this later…
Let’s break down the chords using Roman numerals.
Verse
The verse is in the key of D, moving from III – II on repeat, then IV – III – V, like this:
||: F#m7 (III) | F#m7 | Em (II) | Em :||
| G (IV) | G | F#m7 (III) | F#m7 |
| A (V) | A | A7 | A7 |
It’s a bit odd to say we’re in D since there’s no D chord, but all the other chords lead to it. When the chorus hits and the D finally appears, it feels like a huge release!
To see exactly how to play it, you’ll need the TAB, keep scrolling to find it.
Chorus
In the chorus, Paul Weller makes a change when performing acoustically (there’s TAB available for this version too).
I’ve included a 6th chord in brackets, which indicates it’s an optional addition that you can take away, like this:
||: D5 | D5 (D6) :||
Middle 8
The modal interchange/key change takes place in the middle 8 when we pivot to the key of A. This section first follows the same progression as the verse, moving between III and II (but in the new key), before transitioning to A, turning it into A7, and ultimately returning to the original key of D. The progression looks like this:
||: C#m (III) | C#m | Bm (II) | Bm :||
| A (I) | A | A7 (I becomes V) | A7 |
In this section, A starts as I, but becomes V through modal interchange, before resolving back to D for a shorter chorus and breakdown.
Breakdown + Intro
During the breakdown (or re–intro), the arrangement cleverly shortens the expected two bars, giving the final verse an early impact, clever stuff!
Outro
The outro then places the 3rd of the riff at the beginning—a small but crucial arrangement detail that keeps the listener engaged.
In my experience, musicians who pay attention to these small details tend to move beyond wedding bands and start recording albums, touring with artists, and successfully writing their own songs.
It’s also important to note that musicians who skip the step of studying and playing other people’s music, jumping straight into writing their own, often lack the substance that these tunes provide. In short, digging deep is the key to going far.
Here’s a chord chart for Town Called Malice—I find it easier to read than the chords and lyrics above.
Town Called Malice Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Town Called Malice chord chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Town Called Malice iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Town Called Malice | TAB
The chords are clever—there’s a key change and some modal interchange—and most interesting to me, when Paul Weller plays an acoustic version, he changes the chord riff. We’ll get to why in a bit. Let’s start with the intro and focus on the original recording.
Below, you’ll find the TAB for the bass line. It uses the root, 5th, and 6th. You’ll find this type of rhythm in You Can’t Hurry Love and Are You Gonna Be My Girl.
The Jam probably heard it on Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life (1977), which does feel like a bit of a reference track for Town Called Malice.
The bass is joined by keyboards after four bars. If you’re playing this on one acoustic guitar, below is the TAB showing how you could do that.
The chords start by highlighting the root and adding a 6th, but when repeated, the focus shifts to the 3rd instead. This is how I would play it:
In the playlist above, there’s an acoustic version of Paul Weller playing Town Called Malice solo. He completely changes the riff.
I’ve transcribed this for you so you can choose which version you prefer when you play it.
Paul changes the extensions, and I think he did this because if he added the 6th, he couldn’t play the open D string anymore—so he just moved everything up a string.
This kind of thinking seems to be something only guitar players do, and I guess since it’s his tune, he can do whatever he wants!
Anyway, if we ignore that for now and go back to the “original,” what’s really interesting about this riff is that when it returns for the chorus, the keyboard changes when it highlights the 3rd.
And then, during the outro, it changes again. All of this is in the key of D, by the way.
To get all this to make sense, start playing along with my backing tracks.
Town Called Malice Chords: Continue Learning
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