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Wasteland

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Gmajor

90BPM

Lyrics & ChordsClick chords to see diagrams

For the intro and at the end of the chorus, he's hammering on and pulling off on the B string:
G*  320003 / 320013 ( G/ Gadd11)
[Intro]
G*    G  G*    G  G*    G  G/F#  
[Verse 1]
  GI saw the Dbest of my generation playing Cpinball
  GMaked-up and caked-up and Dlooking like some kind of chiCna dollD  
  GWith all of Adolf Hitler's Dmoves down cold as they Emstood up in front   Cof a rock and roll Dband
  GAnd always moving upward and Dever upward to this genEmtle, goClden promised Dland
With the Gsmartest of them all moonDlighting as a word processor
And the Emstrongest of them all checking CIDs outside saGloons
And the prettDiest of all taking Emoff her clothes in front of men
Whose Ceyes look like they were in some little Ghick town near OmCaha
Watching the poGlice chief run his car oCff the side of a bridgeD  
And I saw a Gmen with dreams like the oDnes I'd had beg quaEmrters outside the 7-11C  
Till it got so they didn't aGffect me anymore than the mailbCoxes I'd pass
'Cept that sometGimes I'd put Csomething in the mailbDox
  BmI'd had the wind at my back, Cnow I felt it cold in my face
And for an Gawful long time now Dyou were the only one who ever Emcalled me late at night
And I never reaClly noticed till after you Gstopped calling
And the emCptiness and C/Bsilence got so Dheavy
[Chorus]
Broken up in the wGasteland
Broken up in the prBmomised land
Broken up in DCisneyland
Broken up in the plDastic land
Broken up in the wEmasteland
Broken up in the wCasteland
                  G*         G  G*    G  G/F#  
Broken up in the wasteland
[Verse 2]
  GAnd I saw Ddead Marilyn Monroe strung Emup on every street corner in HCollywood
Like some two bit whore ofGfering a discount rateC  
And I wondered how Joe DiDmaggio felt
And I saw Gdead James Dean's Dghost wandering the sidewalk Emlooking troubledC  
And I wondered how his maDma felt
I saw sGigns that said "Headshots done fDor cheap"
Signs that said "EmExtras wanted, top dollCars paid"
And signs for Ghaircuts and signs for Cmanicures
And signs for tannGing salons and signs for wCardrobe specialists
Signs for Gcosmetic surgery and signs for Cassertiveness training
And I Dstopped to read them all
And Gevery single block looked like Devery single block
Looked like Emevery single block looked like Cevery single block
But you keGpt driving 'cause Ceveryone else kept driving
And 'cause Ggridlock is evil Cand not knowing your way is eDvil
  BmAnd those that had money looked good but weren't too happy
  CAnd those who didn't have money didn't look so good and weren't too happy either
AGnd in a city of three million Dtwo hundred and sixty nine thEmousand nine hundred eighty fCour
Every one was lDonely
[Chorus]
Broken up in the wGasteland
Broken up in the prBmomised land
Broken up in DCisneyland
Broken up in the plDastic land
Broken up in the wEmasteland
Broken up in the wCasteland
                  G*          G  G*    G  G/F#  
Broken up in the wasteland
[Verse 3]
  GAnd I Dwatched as everyEmone I knew spent their lCives
Trying to be watched on stGage or watched on fDilm or listened to on a recGord
And they thought, "Well, maybe thCat way I could get a little Dlove out of this life"
And I wGatched as the best of Dmy generation abEmandoned their dreamsC  
And settled for making a liDttle money
I wGatched TV and read tDhe papers, listened to the rEmadio and made all the fancy scCenes
And said all the right woGrds and wore all the right clCothes
And knew the names of the hGip people but I stDill felt out of touch
So I stopped wEmatching TV and reading the pDapers and listening to the rCadio
And making the fancy scGenes and saying the right wCords
And wearing the right cloGthes and knowing the names of the hip Cpeople
And I felt more out of Dtouch than ever, oh, but I didn't care anymore
  BmAnd I felt you slipping away
  CAnd I felt myself slipping from you
And I wanted Gmore than anything else for it to rDain for one whole dEmay like it used to
But all there ever Cwas was sun, relentGless sun, hot, beating Csun
And everyone wore their Gsunglasses and walked aCround like flies
Under mBmagnifying glass with their Deyes removed
[Chorus]
Broken up in the wGasteland
Broken up in the prBmomised land
Broken up in DCisneyland
Broken up in the plDastic land
Broken up in the wEmasteland
Broken up in the wCasteland
Broken up in the wEmasteland
Broken up in the wCasteland
                  G*       G  
Broken up in the wasteland
[Outro]
G*    Gx3

All chords in this song (8)

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Wasteland

by Dan Bern

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

Gadd11

G/F#

C/B

For the intro and at the end of the chorus, he's hammering on and pulling off on the B string:

G G Gadd11

* 320003 / 320013 ( / )

[Intro]

G G G G G G G/F#

* * *

[Verse 1]

G D C

I saw the best of my generation playing pinball

G D C D

Maked-up and caked-up and looking like some kind of china doll

G D Em C D

With all of Adolf Hitler's moves down cold as they stood up in front of a rock and roll band

G D Em C D

And always moving upward and ever upward to this gentle, golden promised land

G D

With the smartest of them all moonlighting as a word processor

Em C G

And the strongest of them all checking IDs outside saloons

D Em

And the prettiest of all taking off her clothes in front of men

C G C

Whose eyes look like they were in some little hick town near Omaha

G C D

Watching the police chief run his car off the side of a bridge

G D Em C

And I saw a men with dreams like the ones I'd had beg quarters outside the 7-11

G C

Till it got so they didn't affect me anymore than the mailboxes I'd pass

G C D

'Cept that sometimes I'd put something in the mailbox

Bm C

I'd had the wind at my back, now I felt it cold in my face

G D Em

And for an awful long time now you were the only one who ever called me late at night

C G

And I never really noticed till after you stopped calling

C C/B D

And the emptiness and silence got so heavy

[Chorus]

Broken up in the wasteland

Broken up in the promised land

Broken up in Disneyland

Broken up in the plastic land

Broken up in the wasteland

G G G G G/F#

* *

Broken up in the wasteland

[Verse 2]

G D Em C

And I saw dead Marilyn Monroe strung up on every street corner in Hollywood

G C

Like some two bit whore offering a discount rate

And I wondered how Joe Dimaggio felt

G D Em C

And I saw dead James Dean's ghost wandering the sidewalk looking troubled

And I wondered how his mama felt

G D

I saw signs that said "Headshots done for cheap"

Em C

Signs that said "Extras wanted, top dollars paid"

G C

And signs for haircuts and signs for manicures

G C

And signs for tanning salons and signs for wardrobe specialists

G C

Signs for cosmetic surgery and signs for assertiveness training

And I stopped to read them all

G D

And every single block looked like every single block

Em C

Looked like every single block looked like every single block

G C

But you kept driving 'cause everyone else kept driving

G C D

And 'cause gridlock is evil and not knowing your way is evil

And those that had money looked good but weren't too happy

And those who didn't have money didn't look so good and weren't too happy either

G D Em C

And in a city of three million two hundred and sixty nine thousand nine hundred eighty four

Every one was lonely

[Chorus]

Broken up in the wasteland

Broken up in the promised land

Broken up in Disneyland

Broken up in the plastic land

Broken up in the wasteland

G G G G G/F#

* *

Broken up in the wasteland

[Verse 3]

G D Em C

And I watched as everyone I knew spent their lives

G D G

Trying to be watched on stage or watched on film or listened to on a record

C D

And they thought, "Well, maybe that way I could get a little love out of this life"

G D Em C

And I watched as the best of my generation abandoned their dreams

And settled for making a little money

G D Em C

I watched TV and read the papers, listened to the radio and made all the fancy scenes

G C

And said all the right words and wore all the right clothes

G D

And knew the names of the hip people but I still felt out of touch

Em D C

So I stopped watching TV and reading the papers and listening to the radio

G C

And making the fancy scenes and saying the right words

G C

And wearing the right clothes and knowing the names of the hip people

And I felt more out of touch than ever, oh, but I didn't care anymore

And I felt you slipping away

And I felt myself slipping from you

G D Em

And I wanted more than anything else for it to rain for one whole day like it used to

C G C

But all there ever was was sun, relentless sun, hot, beating sun

G C

And everyone wore their sunglasses and walked around like flies

Bm D

Under magnifying glass with their eyes removed

[Chorus]

Broken up in the wasteland

Broken up in the promised land

Broken up in Disneyland

Broken up in the plastic land

Broken up in the wasteland

G G

Broken up in the wasteland

[Outro]

G G

* x3

About Wasteland Chords by Dan Bern

Learn how to play Wasteland by Dan Bern with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “Wasteland chords”, “Wasteland guitar chords”, or “Dan Bern Wasteland 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 Wasteland chords and for experienced players who want accurate Wasteland lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include B, G, Gadd11, G/F#, D, C.

FAQ — Wasteland by Dan Bern

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What key is "Wasteland" in?

The chords for "Wasteland" show the original chord names (including B, G, Gadd11, G/F#, D, C). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.