Mr. Bad Example
View chords used in this chart
Mr. Bad Example
by Warren Zevon
as it appears on the album "Learning to Flinch"
Faithfully transcribed by Jeremy Sarna
{Capo on 2nd fret}
E B7
I started as an altar boy working in the church
B7 E
Learning all my holy moves and doing some research
E A7
Which led me to a cash box labelled "Children's Fund"
A7 E B7 E
I left the coins and tucked the bills inside my cummerbund
I got a part time job at my father's carpet store
Laying tackless stripping and housewives by the score
I loaded up their furniture and took it to Spokane
and auctioned off every last Naugahyde divan
I'm very well acquainted with the seven deadly sins
I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in
I'm proud to be a glutton and I don't have time for sloth
I'm greedy and I'm angry and I don't care who I cross
Chorus:
A7 E B7 E
I'm Mr. Bad Example, intruder in the dirt
A7 E B7 E
I like to have a good time and I don't care who gets hurt
A7 E B7 E
I'm Mr. Bad Example, take a look at me
A7 E B7 E
I'll live to be a hundred and go down in infamy
Of course I went to law school, took a law degree
Counselled all my clients to plead insanity
Then worked in hair replacement swindling the bald
Where very few are chosen and fewer still are called
Then on to Monte Carlo to play chemin de faire
I threw away the fortune I made transplanting hair
I put my last few francs down on a prostitute
Who took me up to her room to perform the flag salute
Whereupon I stole her passport and her wig
Headed for the airport and the midnight flight, you dig?
Fourteen hours later I was down in Adelaide
Flipping through the want ads sipping Fosters in the shade
I opened up an agency somewhere down the line
To hire aboriginals to work the opal mines
But I attached their wages and took a whopping cut
Whisked away their workman's comp and pauperized the lot
Chorus
I bought a first class ticket on Malaysian Air
Landed in Sri Lanka none the worse for wear
I'm thinking of retiring from all my dirty deals
And I'll see you in the next life, wake me up for meals!
How to play Mr. Bad Example
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is E. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.