When Detroit Was Burning chords by Cathie Ryan

Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E)

Difficulty: Novice

Intro:
A

Verse:

There was a fire in the sky over Gratiot
          D                             A
You could see it all the way from Springwells
E                                 F#m
Standing on the front lawn in the blackness
        E
Holding fast to mama's knees

The whole block on the street
                 A
When Detroit was burning

Verse:

Dad said this had been coming for sometime
    D                                   A
The black guys on the line had told him so
    E                              F#m
The city of the ghettoes burned on fire
          E
There was nothing on the news

But all the neighbours knew
                 A
When Detroit was burning

Chorus:
     D                           F#m
When Detroit was burning, burning
     D                            E
When Detroit was burning, burning down

Verse:
           A
There were no kids in the park on Saturday
    D                                A
The Guardsmen set up tents under the swings
     E                               F#m
They drove their jeeps around Vernor Highway
            E
Then they'd go downtown at night

To shoot everything in sight
                 A
When Detroit was burning

Bridge:
D                        A
I was just a little girl playing with my friends
  D                            E
I didn't know what it meant to live in a black kid's skin
    D                                                E
I'm older now and there's still so much I don't understand

Instrumental:
A    D  A  E  F#m  E    A

Verse:

The farmer's market's thriving down on Gratiot
            D                              A
But there's fire in the night around Springwells
E                              F#m
Detroit wasn't reborn from the ashes
          E
It's been nearly thirty years

And hate's still living here
                  A
Where Detroit was burning

Chorus:
     D                           F#m
When Detroit was burning, burning
     D                            E
When Detroit was burning, burning down
Bm                  F#m
Our hometown burning down