May132022

My Chemical Romance – The Foundations Of Decay Chords on Piano & Ukulele

Updated January 8, 2026

ChordsAmAm/GAm/FAm/EDm Esus4 E F G Em Bb Asus

KeyKeyCapo

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[Intro]
Am  Am/G  Am/F  Am/E   Dm    Esus4  E
Am  Am/G  Am/F  Am/E   Dm    Esus4  E

[Verse 1]
Am      F         G               Em
See the man which stands upon the hill
F              Dm
  He dreams of all
              Esus4   E
  the battles won
     Am      F    G              Em
But fate had left scars upon his face
F               Dm
  With all the damage
           Esus4  E
  they had done

[Pre-chorus]
        F         G      Em
And so time, with age it hurts
    Am    G         F
The pages left with flesh
F                E
Submit itself to gravity

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[Chorus]
         F                   G
Left our bodies lay with our hearts,
we say
        Em
Let our blood and pain
        Am          G
Feel forgotten pain--
F
  If your convictions
         G
  were a passing phase
        Em
May our ashes feed the
             Am        G
river in the morning rays
F                             E
  And as the vermin crawls we lay
                              Am
  in the foundations of decay

[Verse 2]
Am         F
And he was there
    G              Em
The day the towers fell
F           Dm                Esus4  E
  And so he wandered down the road
    Am       F
And we would all
      G             Em
Build towers of our own
F         Dm               Esus4   E
  Only to watch the roots corrode
         F        G
But it's much too late
       Em     Am   G     F
You're in the race so impress
F                               E
Impress till you can't take it anymore

[Chorus]
         F                 G
Left our eyes red with our hearts,
we say
        Em
Let our blood and pain
        Am          G
Feel forgotten pain
F
  And if by his own
           G
  hand his spirit flies,
         Em
Take his body as a
            Am        G
relic to be canonized
F                         E
  And so he gets to die a saint
  but she will always be the whore

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

[Solo/Bridge]
Bb Am
Bb Am
Bb Am
Bb Am
Bb Am
Bb Am
Am  Asus    Am
A-  gainst  faith
Am   Asus   Am
A-   gainst all life
(As if it must be pure)
Am   Asus   Am
A-   gainst shame
(Wander through the ruins)
Am  Asus  Am
We  are   free

[Chorus]
F   G         Em           Am   G
You   you must fix your heart
F      G
  And you must build
     Em             Am   G
  an altar where it was
         F
When the storm decays
               G
at this dying rate
       Em
Let it flood, let it flood
       Am        G
Let it wash away
F
  At last, we'll stumble
              G
  through the last crusade
        Em
When we welcome your
               Am          G
extinction in alarming ways--
F
  And as the swarming calls
     E
  to lay in the foundations

[Outro]
       Am               F     Esus4  E
Yes it comforts me much more
        Am               F
Yes, it comforts me much more
   Esus4            E
To lay in the foundations of decay
Bb Am     Bb Am    Bb Am
      Give      up      coward

How to play The Foundations Of Decay: key, chords and progression

These are the chords for The Foundations Of Decay by My Chemical Romance on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar, and Keyboard

The Foundations Of Decay by My Chemical Romance is written in A minor (no sharps or flats) and moves through 12 chords: Am, Am/G, Am/F, Am/E, Dm, Esus4, E, F, G, Em, Bb and Asus.

The progression the song keeps returning to is F – G – Em – Am (VI – VII – v – i in A minor). Learn these 4 changes first and most of the song falls into place.

Good to know: F and Bb are played as barre or movable shapes on guitar. Practise the change into them slowly; on piano and ukulele the same chords are easier.