Green Day - Jesus of Suburbia

Chords and Tabs

This song is complicated yet simple; the chord structure is
characteristically Green Day in that there are very few chords played in
different patterns for the verse, pre-chorus, chorus, etc. Where it differs
from their other songs, however, is its dramatic shifts in style and tone
throughout. Incidentally, the song is nearly 10 minutes long, comparable in
length to rock operas like "Stairway to Heaven" and "Bohemian Rhapsody."

To date, this is Green Day's only rock opera (with the possible exception of
"Homecoming," another track on this album).

Consequently, I've broken it down into component parts, each part denoting a
shift in style or tone; these are denoted by "PART" and then a roman numeral
designating the part of the song.


Chords Used:

C#: Bb: Ab: Ab(oct):
e----- e----- e----- e-----
G----- G----- G----- B-----
B--6-- B----- B----- G--8--
D--6-- D--8-- D--6-- D--6--
A--4-- A--8-- A--6-- A-----
E----- E--6-- E--4-- E-----


F#: F: A: C:
e----- e----- e----- e-----
G----- G----- G----- B-----
B----- B----- B----- G--5--
D--4-- D--3-- D--7-- D--5--
A--4-- A--3-- A--7-- A--3--
E--2-- E--1-- E--5-- E-----


Eb:
e-----
B-----
G--8--
D--8--
A--6--
E-----


PART I:

Verse 1:

C#

(no chords)
I'm the son of rage and love

Bb

(no chords)
The Jesus of suburbia

F#
The bible of none-of-the-above

Ab
On a steady diet of...



C#

(no chords)
Soda pop and Ritalin

Bb

(no chords)
No one ever died for my sins

F#
In hell, far as I can tell

Ab
At least the ones I got away with



Chorus 1:

F# Ab
And there's nothing wrong with me

F# Ab
This is how I'm supposed to be

F# Ab
In a land of make-believe

(no chords)
I don't believe in me


C# Ab F# (repeat 2x)


Verse 2:

C#

(no chords)
Get my television fix

Bb

(no chords)
Sitting on my crucifix

F#
A living room on my private womb

Ab
While the moms and brads are away


C#

(no chords)
So fall in love and fall in debt

Bb

(no chords)
To alcohol and cigarettes

F#
And Mary-Jane, to keep me insane

Ab
Doing someone else's cocaine


Chorus 1:

F# Ab
And there's nothing wrong with me

F# Ab
This is how I'm supposed to be

F# Ab
In a land of make-believe

(no chords)
I don't believe in me


C# Ab F# (repeat 2x)


Bridge 1:

C# Bb F# Ab

C# F Bb Ab F#

Ab


PART II:


Verse 3:

(soft) C# Ab
At the center of the Earth in the parking lot

Bb Ab
Of the Seven-Eleven where I was taught

F# Ab
The motto was just a lie

(soft) C# Ab
It says home is where your heart is, but what a shame

Bb Ab
Cuz' everyone's heart doesn't beat the same

F# Ab
It's beating out of time



Chorus 2:

Bb Ab
City of the dead

C# F#
At the end of another lost highway

Bb Ab F#
Signs misleading to nowhere

Bb Ab
City of the damned

C# F#
Lost children with dirty faces today

Bb Ab F#
No one really seems to care



Verse 4:

(soft) C# Ab
I read the graffiti on the bathroom stall

Bb Ab
Like the holy scriptures of a shopping mall

F# Ab
And so it seemed to confess

(soft) C# Ab
It didn't say much but it only confirmed

Bb Ab
That the center of the Earth is the end of the world

F# Ab
And I can really care less.



Chorus 2:

Bb Ab
City of the dead

C# F#
At the end of another lost highway

Bb Ab F#
Signs misleading to nowhere

Bb Ab
City of the damned

C# F#
Lost children with dirty faces today

Bb Ab F#
No one really seems to care


PART III:


Solo:


Ab C# Ab F# Eb C# G F# Eb C# Eb Ab
E-----------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------6--------7--7--7--6--------------9--
G-----------6--6--6--------------8--6--------------8--6--8--8-----
D--6--6--6-----------6--6--6--------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------


Chorus 3:


Ab C# \
I don't care if you don't |
|
Ab Eb | Repeat this part
I don't care if you don't | 4 times
|
F# C# Ab |
I don't care if you don't care |
/



Bb Ab
I don't care...


Bridge 2:

C# A Ab (repeat 4x)


Verse 5:

(no chords) A Ab
Everyone's so full of shit

(no chords) A Ab
Born and raised by hypocrites

(no chords) A Ab
Hearts recycled but never saved

(no chords) A Ab
From the cradle, to the grave

(no chords) A Ab
We are the kids of War and Peace

(no chords) A Ab
From Anaheim to the Middle East

(no chords) A Ab
We are the stories and disciples of

(no chords) A Ab
The Jesus of Suburbia



Pre-Chorus 3:

F# Ab C# Ab
Land of make-believe

F# Ab C# Ab
And it don't believe in me.

F# Ab C# Ab
Land of make-believe

F# Ab C# Ab
And I don't believe.



Chorus 3:

F# Ab C#
And I don't care.

F# Ab C#
I don't care.

F# Ab C#
I don't care.

F# Ab C#
I don't care.

F# Ab C#
I don't care.


C# Ab


PART IV:


Verse 6:

Ab C
Dearly beloved are you listening

C# Ab Eb
I can't remember a word that you were saying

Ab C
Are we demented or am I disturbed

C# Ab Eb
The space that's in between insane and insecure


Ab C C# Ab Eb


Ab C
Oh therapy can you please fill the void

C# Ab Eb
Am I retarded or am I just overjoyed

Ab C
Nobody's perfect and I stand accused

C# Ab Eb
For lack of a better word and that's my best excuse (sigh)


Ab C C# Ab Eb


PART V:


Verse 7:
(kinda hard to express the rhythm here; just repeat the little verse
intro)


Ab (root only) F# C# (repeat 4x)


Ab F# C# Ab F# C#
To live and not to breathe

Ab F# C# Ab F# C#
is to die in tragedy

Ab F# C# Ab F# C#
To run, to run away

Ab F# C# Ab F# C#
To find what you believe


Chorus 4:
(again, kinda hard to express rhythm; each chord is strummed only once and
on the beat)


C# Ab C# Ab C# Ab
And I

Eb Ab Eb Ab Eb Ab
leave behind

C# Ab C# Ab C# Ab
This hurricane

Eb Ab Eb Ab Eb Ab
of fucking lies


Verse 8:

Ab F# C# Ab F# C#
I lost my faith to this

Ab F# C# Ab F# C#
This town, that don't exist

Ab F# C# Ab F# C#
So I run, I run away

Ab F# C# Ab F# C#
The light of masochist



Chorus 4:

C# Ab C# Ab C# Ab
And I

Eb Ab Eb Ab Eb Ab
leave behind

C# Ab C# Ab C# Ab
This hurricane

Eb Ab Eb Ab Eb Ab
of fucking lies

C# Ab C# Ab C# Ab
And I

Eb Ab Eb Ab Eb Ab
walked this line

C# Ab C# Ab C# Ab
On million and one

Eb Ab Eb Ab Eb Ab
fucking times


But not this time


Solo 2:

Ab(oct) F# C# (repeat 2x, then the part below)


E---------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------
G--6--8--6--10--6--8--6--5--3--6--3--5-- (repeat 2x)
D---------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------


E--------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----7p6-----9p6-----7p6-----9p6-----9p8-----11p8-----9p8-----11p8--
G--6-------6-------6-------6-------8-------8--------8-------8--------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------------------



PART VI:


Verse 9:

(no chords, just piano)
I don't feel any shame, I won't apologize
When there ain't nowhere you can go
Running away from pain when you've been victimized
Tales from another broken...home


Outro:

Ab F# C#
You're leaving

Ab F# C#
You're leaving

Ab F# C#
You're leaving

Ab F# C#
You're leaving home.

Ab(oct) F# C# (repeat 2x)

Ab