The Ballad Of The Kingsmen chords by Todd Snider

• Capo on 2nd

Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E)

Difficulty: Novice

Intro:
G  D  C


Verse:
    G             D                    C
The Kingsmen came together in a garage, they could hardly even play
    G                           D                                         C
But they practiced night and day pretty soon they got to where they could really play that song Louie, Louie
    G                                    D                             C
So, they saved up all the money from the shows, went in to one of them studios and gave their version

of the song a try

G     D                             C
Now, I don't know the words to that song Louie, Louie and I'm pretty sure the singer for the
G                               D                            C
Kingsmen didn't know ‘em either, if he did know ‘em he didn't get ‘em right on the record
                                              G             D              C            D
Cause on the record they sound jumbled in his jaw? It says, me think of me girl oh so constantly
  G       D             C        D
Ahmayaaah makaaaah aahh ooohoooh aaaaah
G                    D                         C
Well, that last part scared everybody from the PTA to the FBI
         G                               D                               C
You see, the kids had been going kind of crazy lately and it seemed like nobody could figure out why,
            G                        D                                         C
So they decided to form a coalition, launch an investigation, you know for the children,

they at least had to try
G                 D
To figure out the words to Louie, Louie


Chorus:
         G    C   G            C
It's the feel good hit of this endless summer
G             A7             D
It gets these kids out of control
C       D            G             C
Singin along to that star spangled bummer,
G     D             G
Hail, hail rock and roll


Verse:
G               D                     C
Marilyn Manson’s real name isn't even Marilyn Manson, he's a skinny public high school
G                D                      C
Kid from Florida, not some monster from out of this world and like of a lot other skinny long hair public
G               D                                       C
High school kids he was sick of getting beaten up by the pulling guard all week only to go out on the weekend,

and watch the
G                            D       C
Quarterback get all the girls so, he formed a band man
     G               D        C
Now' he gets all the girls, a few years later a couple of latchkey kids go tragically
G                                   D                                          C
Mad and everybody's standing around the television store at the mall trying to figure out what went wrong,

this guy says,
              G                                 D                                           C
you think the life of a kid going to high school could've gotten so bad this other guy says nah,
C
It's just the words to one of them goddamn Marilyn Manson songs, you know the one


Chorus:
         G    C   G            C
It's the feel good hit of this endless summer
G             A7             D
It gets these kids out of control
C       D            G             C
Singin along to that star spangled bummer,
G     D             G
Hail, hail rock and roll


    G               D                           C
You know, every ten years or so our country and some other little country, we start firing all of our

newest weapons
   G                       D                          C
At each other for some reason or another, right or wrong, like it or not, it happens, and when it happens
           G                        D                     C
People get shot and when people get shot, they show it on tv a lot every night at six o clock
                   G                            D                             C
And you don't even have to be eighteen to see it you don't even have to be in first grade,

first grade where they teach the kid pride
     G                             D                          C
They tell him he'll need to thrive, in a world where only the strong will survive, so he's taught

the art of more
       G                       D                            C
To compare to and to keep score Monday thru Friday while he stares at the floor til' Sunday

they make him go to
G                     D                                         C
School once more only this time they make him wear a suit and a tie and listen to some guy who claims to know

where people go
     G                               D                          C
When they die tell him that only the meek are gonna inherit the earth Well sh*t, by this time the kid doesn't

know what anything
   G                              D                  C
Is worth, now brothers and sisters I am only one guy and I don't even know the words to that song Louie, Louie
G                            D                               C
but I can tell you right now without batting an eye that the next time some latchkey kid goes wrong
   C
It aint gonna be cause that Eminem gets to say the word Fag in his song
    G                                   D                             C
And I'm not trying to preach to ya either, I'm just trying to sing to ya too, you know string

a few words together


Outro:
G        D   C
Hey kids...
            G    D   C
Lets get it on,
           G    D   C
Lets get it on