Born In The USA Chords & Guitar Lesson
Welcome to my Born In The USA chords chart by Bruce Springsteen. This is a really simple songs as it mainly uses two chords - the E chord and the B chord.
Now while you can play the B barre chord below if you want, I would highly recommend using an E5 and B5 power chords to play this songs. Add a little distortion on your amp and it will sounds really killer.
Now the other great thing about this song is that the strumming is pretty simple. In the beginning, you strum the power chords and hold them for two measures as seen below.
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Born In The USA Guitar Chords:
Born In The USA Strumming Patterns:
Strumming:
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
D (let ring)
When the strumming becomes more active a simple quarter note (4 strums per chord) or eighth note pattern will suffice.
Strumming Option 2:
1 + 2+ 3+ 4+
DD DD DD DD
If you are interested in playing along with the key board melody line, you can try the riff below.
Main riff arranged for guitar for beginners:
e|-----2---0--2--4---0--2--|-----2---0--2--4--0--2--|
B|-----0---0--0--0-- 0--0--|- ---0---0--0--0--0--0-|
G|----------------------—---|-----—-------------------|
D|-----------------------——|-------—-----------------|
A|-2---------------------——|-2------—---------------|
E|-----------------------——-|---------—--------------|
e|-----2---0--2-- 4--0--2--|-----2---0--2--4--0--2--|
B|-----0---0--0--0--0--0--|-----0---0--0--0--0--0--|
G|--------------------——---|---—--—---—-------------|
D|-----------------——------|----——---—--------------|
A|-----------------------——|-----—--—----------------|
E|-0---------------------——|-0------------------------|
Born In The USA Guitar Lesson:
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Born In The USA Chord Chart:
Intro: (one strum and hold for 2 measures)
B (hold 2 measures) B (hold 2 measures)
E (hold 2 measures) E (hold 2 measures)
Verse:
B (hold 2 measures)
Born down in a dead man's town
B (hold 2 measures)
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
E (hold 2 measures)
End up like a dog that's been beat too much
E (hold 2 measures)
Till you spend half your life just covering up
Chorus:
B (hold 2 measures) B (hold 2 measures)
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
E (hold 2 measures E (hold 2 measures)
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. now
Verse: (start strumming)
B B
Got in a little hometown jam
B B
So they put a rifle in my hand
E E
Sent me off to a foreign land
E E
To go and kill the yellow man
Chorus:
B B B B
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
E E E E
I was born in the U.S.A., born in the U.S.A. now
Verse:
B B
Come back home to the refinery
B B
Hiring man said "Son if it was up to me"
E E
Went down to see my V.A. man
E E
He said "Son, don't you understand"
Interlude:
B B B B
E E E E
Verse:
B B
I had a brother at Khe Sahn
B B
Fighting off the Viet Cong
E E E E
They're still there, he's all gone
B B
He had a woman he loved in Saigon
B B E E E E
I got a picture of him in her arms now
B (hold 2 measures)
Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
B (hold 2 measures)
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
E (hold 2 measures)
I'm ten years burning down the road
E (hold 2 measures)
. Nowhere to run ain't got nowhere to go
Chorus:
B (hold 2 measures) B (hold 2 measures)
Born in the U.S.A., I was born in the U.S.A.
E (hold 2 measures) B (hold 2 measures)
I was born in the U.S.A., I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A. now
B B B B
Born in the U.S.A., Born in the U.S.A.
E E E E
Born in the U.S.A., I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A. now
B B B B
E E E E
This file is the author’s own work and represents his interpretation of this song. It’s intended solely for private study, scholarship or research.
We do not distribute printable chord and lyrics charts. These charts are here only to support online learning. We highly recommend buying music from Hal Leonard or a reputable online sheet music store.