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We Built This City

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Lyrics & ChordsClick chords to see diagrams

Capo 1 fret
[Intro]
We Abuilt this city, we Ebuilt this city on Erock E/F#and  E/G#roll
ABuilt this city, we Ebuilt this city on rock and Aro  -oll
[Instrumental]
E5 A5    G#5 F#5
E5 A5    B   E
E5 A5    G#5 F#5
E5 A5    B   E
[Verse 1]
ESay you don't know me, or A/Erecognize my face
D/ESay you don't care who B7/Egoes to Ethat kind of place
EKnee deep in the hoopla, A/Esinking in your fight                                                            
D/EToo many B7/Erunaways   Eeating up the nightB/D#  
[Pre-Chorus]
Mar-C#mconi plays the A/C#mamba, Bsus4listen to the radi-Bo, don't you Eremem-Aber
We Ebuilt this Acity,    G#5          F#5we Ebuilt this Acity on Erock B/D#and  C#mroll
[Chorus]
We Abuilt this city, we E/G#built this city on Erock E/F#and  E/G#roll
ABuilt this city, we E/G#built this city on Brock G#mand  Aroll
[Instrumental]
E5 A5    G#5 F#5
E5 A5    B   E
[Verse 2] 
ESomeone's always playing A/Ecorporation games
D/EWho cares they're always B7/Echanging   Ecorporation names
EWe just want to dance here, A/Esomeone stole the stage
They D/Ecall us irrespon-B7/Esible,   Ewrite us off the pageB/D#  
[Pre-Chorus]
Mar-C#mconi plays the A/C#mamba, Bsus4listen to the radi-Bo, don't you Eremem-Aber
We Ebuilt this Acity,    G#5          F#5we Ebuilt this Acity on Erock B/D#and  C#mroll
[Chorus]
We Abuilt this city, we E/G#built this city on Erock E/F#and  E/G#roll
ABuilt this city, we E/G#built this city on Brock G#mand Aroll
 A   B/A  A  A
[Bridge]
It's just Aanother ESunday,       A       B/D#      Ein a Atired old EstreetA  B/D#  E  
APolice have got the Echoke hold,    Aoh-oh, B/D#oh,  Eoh,      A     Ebut Awe just B/D#lost Ethe  beat
[Verse 3]
EWho counts the money A/Eunderneath the bar
D/EWho rides the wrecking B7/Eball  in-Eto our guitars
Don't Etell us you need us, 'cos A/Ewe're [the ship of] fools
D/ELooking for A-B7/Emerica,  Ecrawling through your schoolsB/D#  
[Interlude]
          C#m         A/C#       E          Bsus4     Bdon't you Eremem-Aber
E          A    G#5 F#5        E          A       E   B/D# C#m
[Pre-Chorus]
Mar-C#mconi plays the A/C#mamba, Bsus4listen to the radi-Bo, don't you Eremem-Aber
We Ebuilt this Acity,    G#5          F#5we Ebuilt this Acity on Erock B/D#and  C#mroll                                                          
[Chorus]
We Abuilt this city, we E/G#built this city on Erock E/F#and  E/G#roll
ABuilt this city, we E/G#built this city on Brock G#mand Aroll
We Abuilt this city, we E/G#built this city on Erock E/F#and  E/G#roll
ABuilt this city, we E/G#built this city on Brock G#mand Arooo -oll
   AWe built     B/AWe built this city      AWe built this city      B/Awe built this city
   AWe built     B/AWe built this city      AWe built this city      B/Awe built this city 
   AWe built     B/AWe built this city      AWe built this city      B/Awe built this city ...fade

All chords in this song (18)

The story behind the song

This song began as a lament for the disappearing live music scene in Los Angeles, a city built on the energy of rock and roll. It speaks to a sense of being misunderstood, with the "irresponsible" youth and their music being "written off the page." Starship, an American rock band that emerged from Jefferson Starship, released this as their debut single in 1985. At its heart, it captures the feeling of a vibrant culture fighting to preserve its roots against a changing landscape.

AI-written from these sources:We Built This City — Wikipedia ↗Starship (band) — Wikipedia ↗MusicBrainz ↗

Story time

We Built This City

We Built This City

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We Built This City

by Starship

Lyrics & chords · Original key · Capo on fret 1 (as written in this song)

Chords in this song · guitar

E/F#

E/G#

G#5

F#5

A/E

D/E

B7/E

B/D#

C#m

A/C#

Bsus4

G#m

B/A

Capo 1 fret

[Intro]

A E E E/F# E/G#

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

A E A

Built this city, we built this city on rock and ro -oll

[Instrumental]

E5 A5 G#5 F#5

E5 A5 B E

E5 A5 G#5 F#5

E5 A5 B E

[Verse 1]

E A/E

Say you don't know me, or recognize my face

D/E B7/E E

Say you don't care who goes to that kind of place

E A/E

Knee deep in the hoopla, sinking in your fight

D/E B7/E E B/D#

Too many runaways eating up the night

[Pre-Chorus]

C#m A/C# Bsus4 B E A

Mar-coni plays the mamba, listen to the radi-o, don't you remem-ber

E A G#5 F#5 E A E B/D# C#m

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

[Chorus]

A E/G# E E/F# E/G#

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

A E/G# B G#m A

Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

[Instrumental]

E5 A5 G#5 F#5

E5 A5 B E

[Verse 2]

E A/E

Someone's always playing corporation games

D/E B7/E E

Who cares they're always changing corporation names

E A/E

We just want to dance here, someone stole the stage

D/E B7/E E B/D#

They call us irrespon-sible, write us off the page

[Pre-Chorus]

C#m A/C# Bsus4 B E A

Mar-coni plays the mamba, listen to the radi-o, don't you remem-ber

E A G#5 F#5 E A E B/D# C#m

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

[Chorus]

A E/G# E E/F# E/G#

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

A E/G# B G#m A

Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

A B/A A A

[Bridge]

A E A B/D# E A E A B/D# E

It's just another Sunday, in a tired old street

A E A B/D# E A E A B/D# E

Police have got the choke hold, oh-oh, oh, oh, but we just lost the beat

[Verse 3]

E A/E

Who counts the money underneath the bar

D/E B7/E E

Who rides the wrecking ball in-to our guitars

E A/E

Don't tell us you need us, 'cos we're [the ship of] fools

D/E B7/E E B/D#

Looking for A-merica, crawling through your schools

[Interlude]

C#m A/C# E Bsus4 B E A

don't you remem-ber

E A G#5 F#5 E A E B/D# C#m

[Pre-Chorus]

C#m A/C# Bsus4 B E A

Mar-coni plays the mamba, listen to the radi-o, don't you remem-ber

E A G#5 F#5 E A E B/D# C#m

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

[Chorus]

A E/G# E E/F# E/G#

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

A E/G# B G#m A

Built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

A E/G# E E/F# E/G#

We built this city, we built this city on rock and roll

A E/G# B G#m A

Built this city, we built this city on rock and rooo -oll

A B/A A B/A

We built We built this city We built this city we built this city

A B/A A B/A

We built We built this city We built this city we built this city

A B/A A B/A

We built We built this city We built this city we built this city ...fade

About We Built This City Chords by Starship

Learn how to play We Built This City by Starship with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “We Built This City chords”, “We Built This City guitar chords”, or “Starship We Built This City chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy We Built This City chords and for experienced players who want accurate We Built This City lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include A, E, E/F#, E/G#, E5, A5.

FAQ — We Built This City by Starship

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What key is "We Built This City" in?

The chords for "We Built This City" show the original chord names (including A, E, E/F#, E/G#, E5, A5). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.