In The Ghetto Chords & Tabs
VERSE I
A|D|A|D|A|D|A
As the snow flies
C#min
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
Dmaj Emaj
A poor little baby child is born
A|D|A|D|A|D|A
In the ghetto
VERSE II
A|D|A|D|A|D|A
And his mama cries
C#min
'Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
Dmaj Emaj
It's another hungry mouth to feed
A|D|A|D|A|D|A
In the ghetto
BRIDGE I
C#min
People, don't you understand
Dmaj Amaj
The child needs a helping hand
Dmaj Emaj Amaj
Or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
C#min
Take a look at you and me,
Dmaj Amaj
Are we too blind to see,
Dmaj C#(note)
Do we simply turn our heads
B/Dmaj Emaj
And look the other way
VERSE III
A|D|A|D|A|D|A
Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
VERSE IV
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
and he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
BRIDGE II
Then one night in desperation
A young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
Tries to run, but he don't get far
And his mama cries
VERSE V
As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/e/elvis_presley/in_the_ghetto_tab_ver_2.html ]
VERSE VI
As her young man dies,
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin',
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
Chord Structure consist of basically 3 patterns
Intro
Verses
Bridge
The timing of the Intro is the key and really makes the song.
Intro Riff A,D,A,D,A,D,A______
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 1 + 2 + 3 + 4
H P H P H---- H P H -----
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------|
|----2----3----2----3----2----3----|-----------2----2---3---2---3--2----|
|----2---------2---------2---------|-----------2----2-------2------2----|
|----2----4----2----4----2----4----|-----------2----2---4---2---4--2----|
|-0--------------------------------|-0----------------------------------|
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------|
Next the verses are a combo of Half the Intro Riff and a really nice
chord cadence
Verses
| A,D,A,D,A,D,A | C#min | Dmaj | Emaj
| A,D,A,D,A,D,A |
Bridges are a little tricky ...
Bridges
| C#min | Dmaj | Amaj | Dmaj
| Emaj | Amaj |
Walk down
....
| C#min | Dmaj | Amaj | Dmaj -----
C# ----- B/Dmaj------Emaj
Walk down....
|------2-------------0--------0----------|
|------3-------------3--------0----------|
|------2-------------2--------1----------|
|------0-------------0--------2----------|
|-------------4------2--------2----------|
|-----------------------------0----------|