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The Pretender

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Eminor

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The Pretender chords
 G   C2x
I'm gonna Grent myself a house in the shade of the Cfreeway
Gonna Gpack my lunch in the morning, and go to Dwork each Cday
And when the Gevening rolls aCround,
I'll go on Ghome and lay my body Cdown
And when the Gmorning light comes streaming Din
I'll get up and do it aCgaiGn  AmAmeGn
Say it aCgaiGn  AAmmenG  
GI want to know what became of the changes,
We waited for Clove to bring
GWere they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater DawakeninCg
I've been aGware of the time going Cby
They say in the Gend it's the wink of an Ceye
And when the Gmorning light comes streaming Din
I'll get up and do it aCgaiGn  AmAmeGn
Say it aCgaiGn  AAmmenG  
GCaught between the Dlonging for love
And the Cstruggle for the Emlegal B7tender
Where the Csirens sing and the church bells ring
And the Emjunkman pounds his Cfender
Where the Gveterans dream of the Cfight,
Fast aB7sleep at the traffic Emlight
And the A7children solemnly wait for the Gice cream Dvendor
EmOut into the Dcool of the evening, Cstrolls the preEmtenderD  
He knows that Call his hopes an Ddreams
Begin and Gend there
G  C   G  C
CAh the lovers as they run through the Gnight
Leaving Cnothing but to choose off and Emfight
And Dtear at the Gworld with all their Cmight
While the Gships bearing their Emdreams
GSail out of Dsight
DI'm gonna Gfind myself a girl,
Who can show me what Claughter means
Then we'll Gfill in the missing colors in each others
Paint by Dnumber Cdreams
And then we'll Gput our dark glasses Con
And we'll make Glove until our strength is Cgone
And when the Gmorning light comes streaming Din
we'll get up and do it aCgaiGn  AmAmeGn
get it up aCgaiGn  AAmmenG  
GI'm gonna be a Dhappy idiot, and Cstruggle for the Emlegal B7tender
Where the Cads take aim, and lay their claim
To the Emheart and the soul of the Gspender
And Cbelieve in whatever may Glie
In those B7things that money can Embuy
Though A7true love could have been a conDtender
EmAre you Dthere, say a Cprayer Dfor the preEmtender
Who Cstarted out so young and Dstrong only to suGrrender
GSay a prayer for the preCtenderCsus4  
GAre you there for the preCtenderCsus4  
GAre you prepared for the preCtender Csus4  
GAre you there for the preCtenderCsus4  
(Csus4 = C chord + high E 3rd fret)

All chords in this song (8)

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The Pretender

by Jackson Browne

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

Csus4

The Pretender chords

G C

I'm gonna rent myself a house in the shade of the freeway

G D C

Gonna pack my lunch in the morning, and go to work each day

G C

And when the evening rolls around,

G C

I'll go on home and lay my body down

G D

And when the morning light comes streaming in

C G Am G

I'll get up and do it again Amen

C G Am G

Say it again Amen

I want to know what became of the changes,

We waited for love to bring

Were they only the fitful dreams

D C

Of some greater awakening

G C

I've been aware of the time going by

G C

They say in the end it's the wink of an eye

G D

And when the morning light comes streaming in

C G Am G

I'll get up and do it again Amen

C G Am G

Say it again Amen

G D

Caught between the longing for love

C Em B7

And the struggle for the legal tender

Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring

Em C

And the junkman pounds his fender

G C

Where the veterans dream of the fight,

B7 Em

Fast asleep at the traffic light

A7 G D

And the children solemnly wait for the ice cream vendor

Em D C Em D

Out into the cool of the evening, strolls the pretender

C D

He knows that all his hopes an dreams

Begin and end there

G C G C

C G

Ah the lovers as they run through the night

C Em

Leaving nothing but to choose off and fight

D G C

And tear at the world with all their might

G Em

While the ships bearing their dreams

G D

Sail out of sight

D G

I'm gonna find myself a girl,

Who can show me what laughter means

Then we'll fill in the missing colors in each others

D C

Paint by number dreams

G C

And then we'll put our dark glasses on

G C

And we'll make love until our strength is gone

G D

And when the morning light comes streaming in

C G Am G

we'll get up and do it again Amen

C G Am G

get it up again Amen

G D C Em B7

I'm gonna be a happy idiot, and struggle for the legal tender

Where the ads take aim, and lay their claim

Em G

To the heart and the soul of the spender

C G

And believe in whatever may lie

B7 Em

In those things that money can buy

A7 D

Though true love could have been a contender

Em D C D Em

Are you there, say a prayer for the pretender

C D G

Who started out so young and strong only to surrender

G C Csus4

Say a prayer for the pretender

G C Csus4

Are you there for the pretender

G C Csus4

Are you prepared for the pretender

G C Csus4

Are you there for the pretender

(Csus4 = C chord + high E 3rd fret)

About The Pretender Chords by Jackson Browne

Learn how to play The Pretender by Jackson Browne with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “The Pretender chords”, “The Pretender guitar chords”, or “Jackson Browne The Pretender 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 The Pretender chords and for experienced players who want accurate The Pretender lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include G, C, D, Am, Em, B7.

FAQ — The Pretender by Jackson Browne

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What key is "The Pretender" in?

The chords for "The Pretender" show the original chord names (including G, C, D, Am, Em, B7). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.