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Badlands

Bruce Springsteen

RockAdvanced for beginners4 chords

How to play it

Fingering diagrams for the shapes in this song. × = don't play, ○ = open string.

E
BDiagram coming soon
A×
C#mDiagram coming soon

Chords & lyrics

Chord names sit directly above the word where you change.

Text size
 
              INTRO: E E E B A C#m B X3 (Turn distortion on here)E E A A B 
 
E  
Lights out tonight 
A              B    
Trouble in the heartland 
      E 
Got a head-on collision 
A              B 
Smashin' in my guts, man 
     E                     A 
I'm caught in a cross fire 
              B 
That I don't understand 
 
But there's one thing I know for sure girl 
E                   
I don't give a damn 
         A              B 
For the same old played out scenes 
E                   
I don't give a damn 
     A             B 
For just the in betweens 
E                                   A 
Honey, I want the heart, I want the soul 
        B 
I want control right now 
A 
Talk about a dream 
 
Try to make it real 
B 
You wake up in the night 
 
With a fear so real 
A 
Spend your life waiting 
                                 B  A 
For a moment that just don't come 
              B             A   B 
Well, don't waste your time waiting 
 
(Chorus) 
E                    A               C#m  B 
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday 
        E              A 
Let the broken hearts stand 
                              C#m  B 
As the price you've gotta pay 
            E 
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood 
          A                      C#m  B   E E A A B 
And these badlands start treating us good 
 
VERSE II:Use the same chords form the first verse.(In some live versions, Bruce does a  
little note picking when the chords change.  It seemed easy enoungh to tab out. 
 
                                  A|7-----| 
Workin' in the fiedls             E|-7-5-7|     
Till you get your back            burned                                   
Workin' `neath the wheel 
Till you get your facts learned 
Baby I got my facts 
Learned real good right now 
You better get it straight darling 
Poor man wanna be rich, 
Rich man wanna be king 
And a king ain't satisfied 
Till he rules everything 
I wanna go out tonight, 
I wanna find out what I got 
Well I believe in the love that you gave me 
I believe in the love that you gave me 
I believe in the faith that could save me 
I believe in the hope 
And I pray that some day 
It may raise me above these 
 
Chorus: Same chords as before. 
 
INTERLUDE: 
 
E         A      B 
mmmmmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmm X4 
 
VERSE III:Still the same chords.  Turn your guitar up, and palm mute The chords as you 
play them. 
 
 
For the ones who had a notion, 
A notion deep inside 
That it ain't no sin 
To be glad you're alive 
I wanna find one face 
That ain't looking through me 
I wanna find one place, 
I wanna spit in the face of these badlands 
 
Chorus: Same chords. End with: 
 
        BADLANDS! WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA X4 
 
OUTRO(optional):This is yet another thing Bruce does in some live versions. 
Turn the distorion on and play: 
 
           |7--7--7---|------------------| 
           |9--9--9---|------------------| 
           |9--9--9---|------------------|X4   
           |9--9--9---|------------------| 
           |7--7--7---|7-/-\-0-0-0-0-4-2-| 
           |X--X--X---|------------------| 
 
          End with: A A A B B B E (Let the E ring out) 
          
 

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Chord set

E · B · A · C#m

Practice tip

Loop the first two chords slowly until the change is clean, then add the rest.