The intro and ending might confuse you but it's actually fairly simple, just
listen closely to the song
and you'll figure it out...
Leningrad
D A/C#-D Bm A B/Eb-Em B/Eb-Em A/C# B
G D/F# Em A/C# A G/B G A A/C# D
Intro
D Em/D G/D A/D
Victor was born the Spring of ‘44
D Em/D G/D A/D
And never saw his father anymore
D/C G/B Dsus/A Bm/Ab
A child of sacrifice, a child of war
D/A Bbaug Bm G A D
Another son who never had a father after Leningrad
D Em/D G/D A/D
Went off to school and learned to serve the state
D Em/D G/D A/D
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
D/C G/B Dsus/A Bm/Ab
The only way to live was drown the hate
D/A Bbaug Bm Em A D
A Russian life was very sad, and such was life in Leningrad
Dm Asus Am
I was born in ‘49, a cold war kid in McCarthy time
Gsus G Asus A
Stop ‘em at the 38th parallel, blast those yellow reds to hell
Dsus Dm Asus Am
Cold war kids were hard to kill, under their desks in an air raid drill
Gsus G Asus A
Haven’t they heard we won the war, what do they keep on fighting for
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/b/billy_joel/leningrad_crd_ver_3.html ]
D Em/D G/D A/D
Victor was sent to some red army town
D Em/D G/D A/D
Served out his time, became a circus clown
D/C G/B Dsus/A Bm/Ab
The greatest happiness he ever found
D/A Bbaug Bm G A D
Was making Russian children glad, and children lived in Leningrad
Dm Asus Am
Children lived in Levittown, and hid in the shelters underground
Gsus G Asus A
Til the soviets turned their ships around, and tore the Cuban missiles down
Dsus Dm Asus Am
And in that bright October sun, we knew our childhood days were done
Gsus G Asus A
And I watched my friends go off to war, what do they keep on fighting for
D Em/D G/D A/D
And so my child and I came to this place
D Em/D G/D A/D
To meet him eye to eye and face to face
D/C G/B Dsus/A Abdim
He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced
D/A Bbaug Bm G A D E
We never knew what friends we had, until we came to Leningrad
A E/Ab-A F#m E F#/Bb-Bm F#/Bb-Bm E/Ab F#
D A/C# Bm E7
A E/Ab-A F#m E F#/Bb-Bm F#/Bb-Bm E/Ab F#
D A/C# Bm E/Ab E D/F# D E E/Ab A
