Why The King Of Love Is Dead Live chords by Nina Simone

Chords with lyrics

Transcribed from the live recording made two days after Martin Luther King Jr.'s death.



INTRO: a quick strike of B7b5, and then a long flutter of Bb13sus4 and B7B7

What's gonna happen now? In all of our cities?
My people are rising; they're living in lies.
Even if they have to die
Even if they have to die at the moment they know what life is
Even at that one moment that ya know what life is
If you have to die, it's all right
Cause you know what life is
You know what freedom is for one moment of your life

Bb majorBb
But he had seen the mountaintop
    Eb MajorEb  Fm7Fm7   Eb MajorEb
And he knew he could not stop
AbAb           F7F7       Bb7Bb7
Always living with the threat of death ahead
Eb MajorEb         G7G7
Folks you'd better stop and think
AbAb              F7F7 Fm7Fm7
Everybody knows we're on the brink
Eb MajorEb     Cm7Cm7  Fm7Fm7      Bb7Bb7    Eb MajorEb Fm7Fm7  Eb MajorEb
What will happen, now that the King is dead?


Eb MajorEb        Cm7Cm7   F7F7       Bb7Bb7
We can all shed tears; it won't change a thing
Eb MajorEb         G7G7
Teach your people: Will they ever learn?
AbAb            F7F7   Fm7Fm7
Must you always kill with burn and burn with guns
Eb MajorEb       Cm7Cm7    F7sus4F7sus4      Bb7Bb7       Eb MajorEb
And kill with guns and burn - don't you know how we gotta react?

Bb majorBb
But he had seen the mountaintop
    Eb MajorEb  Fm7Fm7   Eb MajorEb
And he knew he could not stop
AbAb           F7F7       Bb7Bb7
Always living with the threat of death ahead
Eb MajorEb         G7G7
Folks you'd better stop and think
AbAb              F7F7 Fm7Fm7
Everybody knows we're on the brink
Eb MajorEb               F7sus4F7sus4  E minorEm  Fm7Fm7  E minorEm
What will happen, now that the King is dead?