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1979 (Ver2) by The Smashing Pumpkins

Chords

Capo

2

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Tuning: Half-Step Down (EbAbDbGbBbeb)

Intro Riff:
|Dmaj7 D5|
|Dmaj7 D5|


Verse 1:
 G                Dmaj7       D5    
Shakedown 1979,        

 G                          Dmaj7       D5    
Cool kids never have the time.   

 G                                 Em7        
On a live wire right up off the street

         A               Dmaj7       D5    
You and I should meet.

Verse 2:
 G                         Dmaj7       D5    
Junebug skipping like a stone   

 G                                Dmaj7       D5    
With headlights pointed at the dawn.   

 G                             
We were sure we'd never see

    Em7           A      
An end to it all.



Chorus 1:
 D5             Dmaj7       Gmaj7/D                            D5        
And I don't even  care to shake these zipper blues,

     Dmaj7          Gmaj7/D                                D5       
And we don't know just where our bones will rest.

    Dmaj7         Gmaj7/D        
To dust I  guess,

               Em7                   A          Dmaj7       D5    
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth be-low.    



Riff:
|G    Dmaj7 D5|


Verse 3:
 G                                 Dmaj7       D5  
Double cross the vacant and the bored,

 G                                       Dmaj7       D5  
They're not sure just what we have in store.

 G                        Em7              A      
Morphine city slippin' dues down to see.



Chorus 2:
 D5          Dmaj7       Gmaj7/D                        D5      
We don't even  care as restless as we are,

    Dmaj7          Gmaj7/D                                D5         
We feel the pull in the land of a thousand guilts.

     Dmaj7        Gmaj7/D         
And poured cement,

              A          
Lamented and assured.



Bridge:
                     Bm       G        
To the lights - and towns below,

 A                   Bm          G        
Faster than - the speed of sound.

 A                  Bm              G     
Faster than - we thought we'd go,

    Em7           A                 Dmaj7       D5    
Be-neath the sound - of hope.        



Verse 4:
 G                        Dmaj7       D5  
Justine never knew the rules,

 G                               Dmaj7        D5  
Hung down with the freaks and ghouls.

 G                           Dmaj7       D5    
No apologies ever need be made,   

 D5                        Em7            A      
I know better than you fake it to see.



Chorus 3:
 D5               Dmaj7       Gmaj7/D                           D5         
That we don't even  care to shake these zipper blues,

     Dmaj7          Gmaj7/D                                D5       
And we don't know just where out bones will rest.

    Dmaj7        Gmaj7/D        
To dust I guess,

               Em7                   A          Dmaj7       D5    
Forgotten and absorbed into the earth be-low.    



Coda:
 G                                 Dmaj7       D5    
The street heats the urgency of now,    

 G                           D5         
As you see there's no-one around.



End:


Notes:
1. After many frustrated attempts in the 'Pumpkins preferred Eb tuning, this was my
approach to capture the 'spirit of the song' with simple, practical chords in an Open
Tuning.  There are obviously many variants.
2. Corgan wrote "1979" as the last of approximately 56 songs for this album.  He
"...considers "1979" the most personally important song on Mellon Collie."

1979 (Ver2) Chords Info

Last Updated: September 10, 2025

Capo: 2

Chords: Dmaj7, D5, G, Em7, A, Gmaj7/D, Bm, Eb