Walk On The Wild Side chords

by Lou Reed

Song Key: C Major

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 104 bpm


Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e

Skill Level: Beginner (easy chords)

Guitar Chords: C, F, F6, D

Easy Guitar Song: Ideal for beginners

String Dampening tips for beginners

Chord Chart Legend
C Major C Major barre chord F Major F6 D Major
Lefties Chord Chart Legend
C Major-LH C Major barre chord-LH F Major-LH F6-LH D Major-LH

Walk On The Wild Side

Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key 
                C      F6      C      F6      C      F6      C      F6 
Intro: 4/4  ‖       |      |       |      |       |      |       |      ‖

   C                               F6
1. Hol-ly came from Mi-am-i  F. L. A. 
   C                                   F6
   Hitch-hiked her way ac-ross the U.S.A.
   C                     D
   Plucked her eye-brows on the way
   F                        D  
   Shaved her legs and then he was a she   She says
   C                              F6       
   Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side    
        C                               F6      
   Said Hey Honey    Take a walk on the wild side

         C         F6         C         F6
    ‖         |          |         |         ‖

   C                           F6
2. Can-dy came from out on the is-land
   C                                       F6
   In the back-room she was ev'-ry-bo-dy's dar-lin'
   C              D
   But she ne-ver lost her head
   F                  D
   E-ven when she was giv-in’ head    She says
   C                              F6      
   Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side
        C                              F6
   Said Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side (And the col-ored girls go)

        C                                F6
   ‖: Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo | Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo :‖ x4

       C          F6          C         F6
   ‖  (doo)  |          |          |          ‖

   C                                 F6
3. Lit-tle Joe ne-ver once gave it a-way
   C                           F6
   Ev-‘ry-bo-dy had to pay and pay
     C                  D
   A hus-tle here and a hus-tle there
   F                D
   New York City is the place where they said
   C                              F6      
   Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side
          C                             F6
   I said Hey Joe    Take a walk on the wild side

         C         F6          C         F6
    ‖         |          |          |          ‖

   C                                  F6
4. Sug-ar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets
   C                                     F6
   Look-in' for soul food and a place to eat
   C           D
   Went to the A-pol-lo
       F                    D
   You should have seen him go go go    They said
   C                                F6    
   Hey Sug-ar    Take a walk on the wild side
          C                              F6
   I said Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side    All-right 

         C            F6          C         F6
   ‖        (huh)|          |          |          ‖

   C                           F6
5. Jack-ie is just spee-ding a-way
   C                                F6
   Thought she was James Dean for a day
   C                D
   Then I guess she had to crash
   F                   D
   Val-i-um would have helped that bash    I said
   C                              F6
   Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side    I  said   
   C                               F6
   Hey Honey    Take a walk on the wild side   (And the col-ored girls say)

      C                                 F6
   ‖: Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo | Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo :‖ x6
 
       C          F6         C          F6
   ‖  (doo)  |          |          |          ‖... repeat to fade

F6 Made Easy (and Dampening Tips for Beginners)

  • Level Of Ease: Easy - the F6 sounds tricky, but it's very easy once you get the hang of it.
  • Song Key: C major... no sharps or flats
  • Let's take a look at the F6 chord:

The chord formula for a 6th chord is 1-3-5-6

F6 reads as follows: F-A-C-D

An easy way to play F6, is to play an open F chord (see chord charts), and add the 4th finger to the 3rd fret-2nd string which is a D note.

This shape doesn't actually include the C-note but because the emphasis is on the 6th (D-note), the exclusion of the C doesn't effect the overall sound... in fact it sounds great.

  • The song requires that you dampen the C and F6 chords in each verse. It is always much easier to dampen barre chords as all the strings are covered, and when you take pressure off the barre chord all strings are silent. With an open C chord however, only 2 strings are covered and 3 strings are open, so when you take the pressure off the strings, the 3 open strings still sound. An accomplished player will dampen with the strumming hand in this case.
  • If you are a beginner and haven't perfected the art of dampening strings with the strumming hand, you may find it hard to dampen an open C chord. In this situation you can play it as a barre chord starting on the 3rd fret and playing an 'A' shape, written as x35553 . As you play the C barre and release the chord, it will dampen.
  • If you haven't learned barre chord, you can play C Major starting on the 3rd fret and playing an 'A' shape, except you will omit the 5th string, played as xx5553. This is simply the second inversion of C major starting with the note G instead of C.
  • With the open F6 chord, all the strings are covered - when you strum and release the chord, it will dampen... hope this helps.

Song Details:

Album Cover
Album Cover
  • Songwriters: Lou Reed
  • Date: 1972
  • Lyrics Begin: Holly came from Miami F.L.A.
  • Performing Artist: Lou Reed
  • Single:
    Recorded: August 1972
    Released: November 24, 1972
    B-side: Perfect Day
  • Genre: Glam rock
  • Album: Transformer
    Recorded: August 1972
    Released: November 8, 1972
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