Chickenshit Conformist chords by Dead Kennedys

• Difficulty: Beginner

♫ Intro:

G F  G
G F  G


♫ Verse 1:
G     F             G
Punk's not dead, it just deserves to die
     G       F       G
When it becomes another stale cartoon
 G       F           G
A closed-minded, self-centered social club
      G      F      G
Ideas don't matter, it's who you know
    F       D    F   G    Bb  G
If the music's gotten boring, it's because of the people
F          D   F  G
Who want everyone to sound the same
N.C.     G       F           G
Who drive the bright people out of our so-called scene
        Bb       C      G
'til all that's left is just a meaningless fad

♫ Verse 2:
N.C.   E          A D
Hardcore formulas are dogshit
      E           A D
Change and caring are what's real
  E          A D
Is this a state of mind
  E          A D
Or just another label?
      E           A D
The joy and hope of an alternative
   E          A D
Has become its own cliché
 E              A D
A hairstyle's not a lifestyle
    E           A  D
Imagine Sid Vicious at thirty-five
E              A      D
Who needs a scene? Scared to love and to feel
    E          A       D
Judging everything by loud, fast rules' appeal
  E              A     D
Who played last night? "I don't know, I forgot
  E             A    D
But diving off the stage was a lot of fun"


♫ Chorus:
  E          A      D
So eager to please peer pressure decrees
  E          A      D
So eager to please peer pressure decrees
     E          A     D
Make the same old mistakes, again and again
D       G          E
Chickenshit conformist like your parents
G F  G
G F  G


♫ Verse 3:
    G     F           G
What's ripped us apart even more than drugs
    G        F       G
Are the thieves and the goddamn liars
G       F              G
Ripping people off when they share their stuff
       G        F      G
When someone falls, are there any friends?
G        F          G
Harder-core-than-thou for a year or two
     G       F    G
Then it's time to get a real job
G      F            G
Others stay home, it's no fun to go out
     G          F        G
When the gigs are wrecked by gangs and thugs
     F     D   F    G   Bb   G
When the thugs form bands, look who gets record deals
   F           D    F G
From New York metal labels looking to scam
       G      F               G
Who sign the most racist queer-bashing bands they can find
     Bb      C      G
To make a buck revving kids up for war


♫ Verse 4:
N.C. E        A D
Walk tall, act small
    E           A D
Only as tough as gang approval
E         A D
Unity is bullshit
     E            A D
When it's under someone's fat boot
E             A D
Where's the common cause?
     E               A   D
Too many factions safely sulk in their shells
 E               A         D
"Agree with us on everything or we won't help with anything"
E             A         D
That kind of attitude just makes a split grow wider
E          A         D
Guess who's laughing while the world explodes?
   E               A       D
When we're all crybabies who fight best among ourselves


♫ Chorus:
  E          A      D
So eager to please peer pressure decrees
  E          A      D
So eager to please peer pressure decrees
     E          A     D
Make the same old mistakes, again and again
D       G          E  N.C.
Chickenshit conformist like your parents


Instrumental ♫ Break:
C A D A
C A D A
C A D A
C   F Em
F D  F D


♫ Verse 5:
N.C. G     F             G
That farty, old rock-and-roll attitude's back
      G        F        G
"It's competition, man, we wanna break big"
G     F             G
Who needs friends when the money's good?
    G        F       G
That's right, the Seventies are back
F     D    F   G   Bb G
Cock-rock metal's like a bad laxative
F        D   F   G
  It just don't move me, ya know?
  G    F                 G
The music's okay when there's more ideas than solos
   Bb       C     G
Do we really need the attitude, too?


♫ Verse 6:
N.C.   E           A D
Shedding thin skin too quickly
   E           A D
As a fan, it disappoints me
     E           A D
Same old, stupid, sexist lyrics
   E              A D
Or is Satan all you can think of?
   E               A    D
"Crossover" is just another word for lack of ideas
E              A        D
Maybe what we need are more trolls under the bridge
     E         A      D
Will the metalheads finally learn something?
      E             A  D
Or will the punks throw away their education?
     E             A        D
No one's ever the best once they believe their own press
  E                A      D
"Maturing" don't mean rehashing mistakes of the past


♫ Chorus:
  E          A      D
So eager to please peer pressure decrees
  E          A      D
So eager to please peer pressure decrees
     E          A     D
Make the same old mistakes, again and again
D       G          E
Chickenshit conformist like your parents


♫ Interlude:
C A D A
C A D A


♫ Bridge:
  C      A      D          A
The more things change, the more they stay the same
     C         A      D   A
We can't grow when we won't criticize ourselves
   C        A         D    A
The '60s weren't all failure, it's the '70s that stunk
    C        A      D  A
As the clock ticks, we dig the same hole
   C         A          D     A
Music scenes ain't real life, they won't get rid of the bomb
    C    A       D    A
Won't eliminate rape or bring down the banks
  C      A         D    A
Any kind of real change takes more time and work
       C       A D  A
Than changing channels on a TV set


Outro ♫ Chorus:
         C    A      D      A
So, why are we so eager to please peer pressure decrees?
  C    A      D      A
So eager to please peer pressure decrees
     C      A    D     A
Make the same old mistakes, again and again
C       F          D
Chickenshit conformist like your parents