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Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen - Guitar Chords
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Version 1 Version 1 Version 2 Version 3
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - NEBRASKA (1982)
1. Nebraska
2. Atlantic City
3. Mansion on the Hill
4. Johnny 99
5. Highway Patrolman
6. State Trooper
7. Used Cars
8. Open All Night
9. My Father's House
10. Reason to Believe
NEBRASKA
TUNING: Bruce's guitar is out of tune on this one. I suspect it's flat. That
means the song was possibly played in 'D'. So to transcribe C#=D, F#=G and G#=A.
Live he plays it in 'F'. For an easy transcription just knock all the sharps off.
The choice is yours.
[Intro]
G# C# G# C# F# C#
G# C#
[Verse 1]
G# C# G# C#
I saw her standin' on her front lawn just twirlin' her baton
F# C# G# C#
Me and her went for a ride sir and ten innocent people died
G# C# G# C#
From the town of Lincoln Nebraska with a sawed off .410 on my lap
F# C# G# C#
G# C#
Through to the badlands of Wyoming I killed everything in my path
G# C# G# C#
I can't say that I'm sorry for the things that we done
F# C# G# C#
At least for a little while sir me and her we had us some fun
G# C# G#
C#
Now the jury brought in a guilty verdict and the judge he sentenced me to death
F# C# G# C#
Midnight in a prison storeroom with leather straps across my chest
G# C# G#
C#
Sheriff when the man pulls that switch sir and snaps my poor head back
F# C# G# C#
You make sure my pretty baby is sittin' right there on my lap
[Harmonica]
G# C# G# C#
[Verse 2]
G# C# G#
C#
They declared me unfit to live said into that great void my soul be hurled
F# C#
They want to know why I did what I did
G# C#
Well sir I guess there's just a meanness in this world
[Harmonica]
G# C# G# C# F# C#
G# C#
ATLANTIC CITY
Live Capo 3rd Fret Chords:
Em G C D)
[Verse 1]
F#m A D A
Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night
F#m A D A
Now they blew up his house too
F#m A D A
Down on the boardwalk they're gettin' ready for a fight
F#m A D A
Gonna see what them racket boys can do
F#m A D A
Now there's trouble busin' in from outta state
F#m A D A
And the D.A. can't get no relief
F#m A D A
Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade
F#m A D E
And the gamblin' commission's hangin' on by the skin of its teeth
[Chorus 1]
F#m A D A
Well now everything dies baby that's a fact
F#m A E F#m
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
A D A
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty
F#m A D A
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
[Break 1]
F#m A D A F#m A D A
[Verse 2]
F#m A D A
Well I got a job and tried to put my money away
F#m A D A
But I got debts that no honest man can pay
F#m A D A
So I drew what I had from the Central Trust
F#m A D E
And I bought us two tickets on that Coast City bus
[Chorus 2]
F#m A D A
Now baby, everything dies baby that's a fact
F#m A D A
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
F#m A D A
Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty
F#m A D A
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
[Break 2]
F#m A D A F#m A D A
F#m A D A F#m A D A
[Verse 3]
D F#m A
E F#m
Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold but with you forever I'll stay
D F#m
We're goin' out where the sand's turnin' to gold
D A D A
So put on your stockin's baby `cause the night's getting cold
D A D A
And everything dies baby that's a fact
D A E D
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
[Break 3]
F#m A D A F#m A D A
[Verse 4]
F#m A D A
Now I been lookin' for a job but it's hard to find
F#m A
Down here it's just winners and losers
D A
And don't get caught on the wrong side of that line
F#m A D A
Well I'm tired of comin' out on this losin' end
F#m A
D E
So honey last night I met this guy and I'm gonna do a little favour for him
[Chorus]
F#m A D A
Well I guess everything dies baby that's a fact
F#m A D A
But maybe everything that dies someday comes back
F#m A D A
Put your hair up nice and set up pretty
F#m A D A
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
F#m A D A
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
F#m A D A
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
F#m A D A
Will you meet me tonight in Atlantic City
[Outro]
F#m A D A F#m A D A
F#m A D A F#m A D A
F#m A D A F#m A D A
MANSION ON THE HILL
[Intro]
D G D G D G D
A D
[Verse 1]
G D
There's a place out on the edge of town sir
G D
Risin' above the factories and the fields
G D A
D
Now ever since I was a child I can remember that mansion on the hill
G D
In the day you can see the children playing
G D
On the road that leads to those gates of hardened steel
G D A D
Steel gates that completely surround sir the mansion on the hill
G D
At night my daddy'd take me and we'd ride
G D
Through the streets of a town so silent and still
G D
Park on a back road along the highway side
A D
Look up at that mansion on the hill
[Harmonica]
D G D A D G A D
[Verse 2]
G D
In the summer all the lights would shine
G D
There'd be music playin' people laughin' all the time
G D
Me and my sister we'd hide out in the tall corn fields
A D
Sit and listen to the mansion on the hill
G D
Tonight down here in Linden Town
G D
I watch the cars rushin' by home from the mill
G D A D
There's a beautiful full moon rising above the mansion on the hill
[Harmonica]
D G D G D G D
A D G
JOHNNY 99
NOTES: I recommend slapping a capo on the second fret to make fretting easier.
[Intro]
B F# B
[Verse 1]
B
Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month
F#
Ralph went out lookin' for a job but he couldn't find none
B
He came home too drunk from mixin'Tanqueray and wine
F# B
He got a gun shot a night clerk now they call him Johnny 99
Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light you don't stop
F#
Johnny's wavin' his gun around and threatenin' to blow his top
B
When an off duty cop snuck up on him from behind
F# B
Out in front of the Club Tip Top they slapped the cuffs on Johnny 99
E B
Well the city supplied a public defender but the judge was Mean John Brown
F#
He came into the courtroom and stared poor Johnny down
B
Well the evidence is clear gonna let the sentence son fit the crime
F# B
Prison for 98 and a year and we'll call it even Johnny 99
[Harmonica]
B E B F# B
[Verse 2]
E B
A fistfight broke out in the courtroom they had to drag Johnny's girl away
F#
His mama stood up and shouted Judge don't take my boy this way
B
Well son you got any statement you'd like to make
F# B
Before the bailiff comes to forever take you away
Now judge judge I had debts no honest man could pay
F#
The bank was holdin' my mortgage and they was takin' my house away
B
Now I ain't sayin' that makes me an innocent man
F# B
But it was more 'n all this that put that gun in my hand
Well your honour I do believe I'd be better off dead
F#
And if you can take a man's life for the thoughts that's in his head
B
Then won't you sit back in that chair and think it over judge one more time
F# B
And let 'em shave off my hair and put me on that execution line
[Outro]
E B F# B F# B
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN
[Intro]
D
[Verse 1]
D G D
My name is Joe Roberts I work for the state
A
I'm a sergeant out of Perrineville barracks number 8
D G D
I always done an honest job as honest as I could
A D
I got a brother named Franky and Frank he ain't no good
G D
Now ever since we was young kids it's been the same come down
A
I get a call on the shortwave Franky's in trouble downtown
D G D
Well if it was any other man, I'd put him straight away
A D
But when it's your brother sometimes you look the other way
[Chorus 1]
G D A G
D
Yeah, me and Franky laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
A G D
A
Takin' turns dancin' with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
D G D
I catch him when he's straying like any brother would
A D
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good
[Verse 2]
G D
Well Franky went in the army back in 1965
A
I got a farm deferment, settled down, took Maria for my wife
D G
D
But them wheat prices kept on dropping 'till it was like we were getting robbed
A D
Franky came home in `68, and me, I took this job
[Chorus 2]
G D A G
D
Yea we're laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
A G D
A
Takin' turns dancin' with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
D G D
I catch him when he's straying, teach him how to walk that line
A D G
A D
Man turns his back on his family he ain't no friend of mine
[Verse 3]
G D
Well the night was like any other, I got a call `bout quarter to nine
A
There was trouble in a roadhouse out on the Michigan line
D G D
There was a kid lying on the floor lookin' bad bleedin' hard from his head
A D
There was a girl crying at a table and it was Frank, they said
G D
Well I went out and I jumped in my car and I hit the lights
A
But I must of done a hundred and ten through Michigan county that night
D G D
It was out at the crossroads, down round Willow bank
A D
Seen a Buick with Ohio plates behind the wheel was Frank
Well I chased him through them county roads
G D
'till a sign said Canadian border five miles from here
A D
I pulled over to the side of the highway and watched his taillights disappear
[Chorus 3]
G D A G
D
Me and Franky laughing and drinking nothing feels better than blood on blood
A G D
A
Taking turns dancing with Marie as the band played Night of the Johnstown Flood
D G D
I catch him when he's straying like any brother would
A D G D
Man turns his back on his family well he just ain't no good
STATE TROOPER
[Intro]
Am
[Verse 1]
Am
New Jersey Turnpike riding on a wet night
D Am
'neath the refinery's glow, out where the great black rivers flow
D
License, registration, I ain't got none but I got a clear conscience
Am
About the things that I done
Mister state trooper, please don't stop me
D Am D Am
Please don't stop me, please don't stop me
Maybe you got a kid, maybe you got a pretty wife
D Am
The only thing that I got's been bothering me my whole life
Mister state trooper, please don't stop me
D Am D Am
Please don't you stop me, please don't you stop me
In the wee wee hours your mind gets hazy,
D Am
Radio relay towers gonna lead me to my baby
Radio's jammed up with talk show stations
D Am
It's just talk, talk, talk, talk, till you lose your patience
D Am
Mister state trooper, please don't stop me
D Am
Oh, Oooh oh
Aint somebody out there, listen to my last prayer
D Am
Hiho silver-o, deliver me from nowhere
D
Oh, Ooh
SHUFFLE:
A D A
e|------------------------------------|
B|------------------------------------|
G|-------------22-----222-------------|
D|-22-222-222--00-000-000-000---22-22-|
A|-0030003000----30003---30003--00300-|
E|------------------------------------|
USED CARS
[Intro]
D
[Verse 1]
D G D
My little sister's in the front seat with an ice cream cone
A D
My Ma's in the black seat sitting all alone
G D
As my Pa steers her slow out of the lot
A D
For a test drive down Michigan Avenue
G D
Now, my Ma, she fingers her wedding band
A D
And watches the salesman stare at my old man's hands
He's telling us all about the break he'd give us
G D
If he could, but he just can't
A D
Well if I could, I swear I know just what I'd do
[Chorus 1]
G
Now, mister, the day the lottery I win I ain't
D A D
Ever gonna ride in no used car again
[Verse 2]
G D
Now, the neighbors come from near and far
A D
As we pull up in our brand new used car
G D
I wish he'd just hit the gas and let out a cry
A D
And tell 'em all they can kiss our asses goodbye
[Harmonica]
G A
D G D
My dad, he sweats the same job from mornin' to morn
A D
Me, I walk home on the same dirty streets where I was born
Up the block I can hear my little sister in the
G D
Front seat blowing that horn
A D
The sounds echoing all down Michigan Avenue
[Chorus 2]
G
Now, mister, the day my numbers comes in I ain't
D A D
Ever gonna ride in no used car again
[Harmonica Outro]
G D A D
G D A D A D
OPEN ALL NIGHT
[Intro]
F#
Well, I had the carburettor, baby, cleaned and checked
With her line blown out she's humming like a turbojet
B
Propped her up in the backyard on concrete blocks
F#
For a new clutch plate and a new set of shocks
C#
Took her down to the carwash, check the plugs and points
F#
Well, I'm going out tonight I'm gonna rock that joint
Early North Jersey industrial skyline
I'm a all-set cobra jet creeping through the nighttime
B
Gotta find a gas station, gotta find a payphone
F#
This turnpike sure is spooky at night when you're all alone
C#
Gotta hit the gas, baby, I'm running late
F#
This New Jersey in the morning like a lunar landscape
BREAK: B C#
F#
Now, the boss don't dig me, so he put me on the nightshift
Takes me two hours to get back to where my baby lives
B
In the wee wee hours your mind gets hazy
F#
Radio relay towers, won't you lead me to my baby?
C#
Underneath the overpass, trooper hits his party light switch
F#
Goodnight good luck one two power shift
I met Wanda when she was employed behind the counter at route 60
B
Bob's Big Boy Fried Chicken on the front seat, she's sitting in my lap
F#
We're wiping our fingers on a Texaco roadmap
C# F#
I remember Wanda up on scrap metal hill with them big brown eyes
That make your heart stand still
[Break]
B C#
F#
Well, at five AM oil pressure's sinking fast
I make a pit stop, wipe the windshield, check the gas
B
Gotta call my baby on the telephone
F#
Let her know that her daddy's coming on home
C#
Sit tight, little mama, I'm a coming round
F#
I got three more hours, but I'm covering ground
Your eyes get itchy in the wee wee hours
Sun's just a red ball rising over them refinery towers
B
Radio's jammed up with gospel stations
F#
Lost souls calling long distance salvation
C#
Hey, mister DJ, wont ya hear my last prayer
F#
Hey, ho, rock'n'roll, deliver me from nowhere
Hey a lay da di da lay da di da da yodle
Hey a lay da di da lay da di da da yodle
B
Hey a lay da di da lay da di da da yodle
MY FATHER'S HOUSE
[Intro]
D A D
[Verse 1]
G D
Last night I dreamed that I was a child
A
Out where the pines grow wild and tall
D G D
I was trying to make it home through the forest
A D
Before the d..arkness falls
G D
I heard the wind rustling through the trees
A
And ghostly voices rose from the fields
D G D
I ran with my heart pounding down that broken path
A D
With the devil snappin' at my heels
G D
I broke through the trees and there in the night
A
My father's house stood shining hard and bright
D G D
The branches and brambles tore my clothes and scratched my arms
A D
But I ran till I fell, shaking in his arms
[Harmonica]
D A D
[Verse 2]
G D
I awoke and I imagined the hard things that pulled us apart
A
Will never again, sir, tear us from each other's hearts
D G D
I got dressed, and to that house I did ride
A D
From out on the road, I could see its windows shining in light
G D
I walked up the steps and stood on the porch
A
A woman I didn't recognize came and spoke to me through a chained door
D G D
I told her my story and who I'd come for
A D
She said I'm sorry, son, but no one by that name lives here anymore
[Harmonica]
G D A D
G D A D
G D
My father's house shines hard and bright
A
It stands like a beacon calling me in the night
D G D
Calling and calling so cold and alone
A D
Shining across this dark highway where our sins lie unatoned
REASON TO BELIEVE
NOTES: I suggest turning this tune into a bluesy shuffle in the style that Bruce
now performs it with the E Street Band.
[Intro]
F#h]F#
[Verse 1]
B F#
Seen a man standing over a dead dog by the highway in a ditch
C#
He's looking down kinda puzzled poking that dog with a stick
F# B F#
Got his car door flung open he's standin' out on highway 31
B F# C# F#
Like if he stood there long enough that dog'd get up and run
B F# C# F#
Struck me kinda funny seem kinda funny sir to me
B F# C#
F#
Still at the end of every hard day people find some reason to believe
[Verse 2]
B F#
Now Mary Lou loved Johnny with a love mean and true
C#
She said baby I'll work for you every day and bring my money home to you
F# B F#
One day he up and left her and ever since that
B F# C#
F#
She waits down at the end of that dirt road for young Johnny to come back
B F# C# F#
Struck me kinda funny seemed kind of funny yeah indeed
B F# C#
F#
How at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe
[Harmonica]
B C# F#
B C# F#
[Verse 3]
B F#
Take a baby to the river Kyle William they called him
C#
Wash the baby in the water take away little Kyle's sin
F# B F#
In a whitewash shotgun shack an old man passes away
B F# C# F#
Take his body to the graveyard over him they pray
B F# C# F#
Lord won't you tell us, tell us what does it mean
B F# C#
F#
At the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe
B F#
Congregation gathers down by the riverside
C#
Preacher stands with his Bible groom stands waiting for his bride
F# B F#
Congregation gone the sun sets behind a weeping willow tree
C# F#
Groom stands alone and watches the river rush on so effortlessly
B F# C# F#
Wondering where can his baby be
B F# C#
F#
Still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe
[Outro]
B F# C# F#
B F# C# F#
TUNING: The tuning to play in the key above is slightly flat, not quite a whole
semitone. Live the song is played in 'G' which makes me think that this was
possibly played in 'G' but his guitar was maybe out of tune. To transpose F#=G,
B=C and C#=D...or tune down slightly.
We also have 105 songs by Bruce Springsteen
- 4Th Of July Asbury Park Sandy
- Adam Raised A Cain
- Aint Got You
- All That Heaven Will Allow
- Atlantic City
- Backstreets
- Badlands
- Better Days
- Blinded By The Light
- Blood Brothers
- Bobby Jean
- Born In The Usa
- Born To Run
- Brilliant Disguise
- Burnin Train
- Cadillac Ranch
- Cover Me
- Dancing In The Dark
- Darkness On The Edge Of Town
- Darlington County
- Devils And Dust
- Does This Bus Stop At 82Nd Street
- Downbound Train
- Drive All Night
- Factory
- Fade Away
- For You
- Ghosts
- Girls In Their Summer Clothes
- Glory Days
- Growin Up
- Highway Patrolman
- House Of A Thousand Guitars
- Human Touch
- Hungry Heart
- I Wanna Marry You
- I Wish I Were Blind
- If I Should Fall Behind
- If I Was The Priest
- Ill See You In My Dreams
- Im Goin Down
- Im Going Down
- Im On Fire
- Incident On 57Th Street
- Independence Day
- Its Hard To Be A Saint In The City
- Jackson Cage
- Jersey Girl
- Johnny 99
- Jungleland
- Last Man Standing
- Letter To You
- Lost In The Flood
- Lucky Town
- Mansion On The Hill
- Meeting Across The River
- Merry Christmas Baby
- My City Of Ruins
- My Fathers House
- My Hometown
- Nebraska
- New York City Serenade
- Night
- No Surrender
- One Minute Youre Here
- One Step Up
- Open All Night
- Pay Me My Money Down
- Pink Cadillac
- Point Blank
- Prove It All Night
- Racing In The Street
- Radio Nowhere
- Red Headed Woman
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
- Secret Garden
- Sherry Darling
- Shes The One
- Something In The Night
- Spirit In The Night
- Stolen Car
- Streets Of Philadelphia
- Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
- The Ghost Of Tom Joad
- The Power Of Prayer
- The Price You Pay
- The Promise
- The Promised Land
- The River
- The Wrestler
- This Hard Land
- Thunder Road
- Tougher Than The Rest
- Trapped
- Tunnel Of Love
- Two Faces
- Two Hearts
- Used Cars
- Valentines Day
- Waitin On A Sunny Day
- Walk Like A Man
- Working On The Highway
- Wreck On The Highway
- Youngstown
- Youre Missing
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