American Blood Chords

KeyG CapoNone TuningStandard Difficulty Plays724

American Blood by Reckless Kelly is a beginner-friendly guitar song played in the key of G. It uses the chords G, C, D and Em. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.

Transpose
G
Text
16
Speed
  			American Blood 
Reckless Kelly 
G 

G                                             C 
Johnny can't drink 'cause Johnny ain't twenty-one 
         G                                          D 
Yeah but he's eighteen and he's pretty handy with a gun 
G                             
They sent him off to a foreign land 
           C 
Gave him a new pair of boots and thirteen grand 
       G                    D       C            G 
And he came back home with American blood on his hands 

But George is a real go-getter and he's running the show 
And he should have known better but his old man told him to go 
He sits at home with his feet on his desk 
While the boys got theirs in the sand 
A million miles away with American blood on their hands 

Well Johnny can't walk but the medic said he's okay to fly 
And the newspapers tell us he's a hero and hell of a guy 
They sent him up to Washington 
For a photo op with the smoking gun 
He's got Purple Heart and American blood on his hands 

Chorus: 
C     G        D      G 
Black gold for silver stars 
C                  D       G 
Cold hard cash for armored cars 
C                                                          D          C 
The brass ain't fighting but they're sure as hell taking a stand 
            Em                 C       D              G 
And they'll have to live with American blood on their hands 

Now George stands up on a boat proudly waving a flag 
He says the hard part's over and he knew it wouldn't be so bad 
The roadside bombs for six long years were never really part of the plan 
What's a couple thousand more with American blood on their hands? 

Repeat Chorus 

Now Johnny can drink all day 'cause he's twenty-three 
He donated his legs to the worldwide land of the free 
He cries God Bless America but God Damn Uncle Sam! 
While he stares through the tears with American blood on his hands 
While he stares through the tears with American blood on his hands 

Repeat Chorus 

C    D    G 
    	

Chord diagrams

Guitar tuner

--
Start the tuner and play a string

Reference tones

Standard tuning, lowest to highest. Click a string to play it; the string the mic hears is highlighted.

Click Start tuner and allow microphone access. The needle centers and turns green when a string is in tune (within 5 cents).
No microphone? You can still tap any string above to hear its exact reference pitch.

Metronome

100 BPM Andante