Pink Houses

pink houses john mellencamp transcribed by : cpdmusic E - mail : cpdmusic@hotmail . com the song pink houses by john cougar mellencamp was written in 1983 , reached no . 8 on billboard charts , and remains a rock radio staple to this day . it is recommended for to intermediate guitar players . the song only uses a few basic chords , and has a pretty main riff , based off of the G and Cadd9 chords . riff : G Cadd9 G E | | - - - - - | | - - - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - | - - 3 - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - | B | | - - - - - | | - - - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - | - - 3 - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - | G | | - - - - - | | * - - - - - - - 0 - - 0 - - - - - - 0 - - 0 - - 0 - - | - - 0 - - - - - - 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - | D | | - - - - - | | * - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - - - 0 - - 0 - - 0 - - | - - 2 - - - - - - 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - | A | | - - - - - | | - - - 0h2 - - - - - 2 - - - - - - 2 - - 2 - - 2 - - | - - 3 - - - - - - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - | E | | - - 3 - - | | - - - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - | - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - 3 - - - | G Cadd9 G - - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - | - - 3 - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - | | - - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - | - - 3 - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - | | - - - - - - - 0 - - 0 - - - - 0 - - 0 - - 0 - - 0 - - | - - 0 - - - - - - 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - * | | - - - - - - - - - - 0 - - - - 0 - - 0 - - 0 - - 0 - - | - - 2 - - - - - - 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - * | | - - 0h2 - - - - - 2 - - - - 2 - - 2 - - 2 - - 2 - - | - - 3 - - - - - - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - | | - - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - 3 - - | - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - | | chords : Intro : riff Verse 1 : G theres a black man with a black cat living in a black neighbourhood hes got an interstate runnin through his front yard F/C C G you know he thinks hes got in so good and theres a woman in the kitchen cleanin up the evening slop C and he looks at her and says hey darling G i can remember when you could stop a clock Chorus : C G oh but aint that america for you and me G G aint that america , something to see , baby C D aint that america , home of the free , yeah C little pink houses for you and me oh , for you and me riff x2 Verse 2 : G well theres a young man in a t - shirt listening to a rock n roll station hes got greasy hair , greasy smile F/C C G he says , lord this must be my destination cause they told me when i was younger said , boy , youre gonna be president F/C C but just like everything else , those old crazy dreams G just kinda came and went Chorus : C G oh but aint that america for you and me G G aint that america , something to see , baby C D aint that america , home of the free , yeah C little pink houses for you and me oh , for you and me riff x4 Bridge : F C G ( play 4 times ) Verse 3 : G well theres people and more people what do they know , know , know go to work in some high - rise F/C C G and vacation down at the gulf of mexico , oh yeah and theres winners , and theres losers but they aint no big deal , F/C C cause the simple man baby pays for thrills G the bills and the pills that kill Chorus : C G oh but aint that america for you and me G G aint that america , something to see , baby C D aint that america , home of the free , yeah C little pink houses for you and me oh , for you and me C G oh but aint that america for you and me G G aint that america , something to see , baby C D aint that america , home of the free , yeah C little pink houses for you and me oh , for you and me riff x4