Oct162020

Steve Earle – Little Emperor Chords on Piano & Ukulele

ChordsC G F

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
C C G C

[Verse]
C
Hey little emperor come down 
from your throne
    G                        
The hour glass is empty your 
C
time has come and gone
The battlements are crumblin' 
the walls are tumblin' down
     G                         
Your counselors and concubines 
    C
are getting' outta town

[Chorus]
F                              
Some say it's an omen some say 
                  C
it's the winds of change
      F                        
Which ever way it's goin' it's 
                    C
blowin' like a hurricane

[Verse]
C
Hey little conqueror where you 
gonna go
    G                          
The world is even smaller than 
   C
it was when you left home
Emptiness in front of you 
and detritus behind
  G                       
Nobody ever told you that 
C
history was kind

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[Chorus]
F                           
Standin' on the corner your 
                       C
fortune blowin' in the wind
F                           
Daddy didn't warn you there 
                    C
ain't no goin' home again

[Verse]
C
No pomp and circumstance 
no more shock and awe
       G                    
You're just a little emperor 
        C
that's all

[Solo]
C G C
C G C
F C

Feel free to use our free Chord Shape Generator to see every chord in this song on guitar, ukulele and piano.

[Verse]
C
Hey little hypocrite what 
you gonna say
         G                
When you wind up standin' 
             C
naked on the final judgement day
How you gonna justify it 
who you gonna call
G                             
What if it turns out that God 
      C
don't look like you at all

[Chorus]
F                            
The leaves are in the teacup 
                         C
the hieroglyphics on the wall
F                              
You ain't the first to rise up 
                              C
you sure won't be the last to fall

[Verse]
C
Hey little emperor come down 
from you throne
    G                         C
And let another emperor climb on

[Outro]
C G C
C G C

How to play Little Emperor: key, chords and progression

This is the chords of Little Emperor by Steve Earle on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar and Keyboard.

Little Emperor by Steve Earle is centred on C major (no sharps or flats). The song uses 3 chords: C, G and F.

Listen for C – G – C – F (I – V – I – IV in C major): the song comes back to it again and again. In solfa, that is doh – soh – doh – fah. Once these 4 changes are comfortable, most of the song is done.

Easier on guitar: put a capo on the 3rd fret and play the shapes A, E, D (100% of the chords become easy open shapes, against 67% without a capo). It sounds exactly the same.