Leningrad

Written by Billy Joel

Well, this is one of Billy Joel's best songs. Originally on piano, of course,
and I'm not sure what key it was written in; I've put it in G.

Verse Chord Pattern 1:

GG Piano Chord 
          AmAm Piano Chord 
   CC Piano Chord 
              DD Piano Chord 

Victor was born the spring of '44
GG Piano Chord 
         AmAm Piano Chord 
  CC Piano Chord 
          DD Piano Chord 

And never saw his father anymore
GG Piano Chord 
          CC Piano Chord 
          GG Piano Chord 
          EmEm Piano Chord 

A child of sacrifice, a child of war
GG Piano Chord 
       DD Piano Chord 
             EmEm Piano Chord 
           CC Piano Chord 
 DD Piano Chord 
        GG Piano Chord 

Another son who never had a father after Leningrad

Pattern 1:
Went off to school and learned to serve the state
Followed the rules and drank his vodka straight
The only way to live was drown the hate
A Russian life was very sad, and such was life in Leningrad.

Verse Chord Pattern 2:

GmGm Piano Chord 
                   DmDm Piano Chord 
                BbBb Piano Chord 

I was born in '49, a cold war kid in McCarthy time
FF Piano Chord 
                              DD Piano Chord 

Stop 'em at the 38th parallel, blast those yellow Reds to Hell
GmGm Piano Chord 
                              DmDm Piano Chord 
                      BbBb Piano Chord 

Cold war kids were hard to kill under their desks in an air raid drill
FF Piano Chord 

Haven't they heard we won the war
DD Piano Chord 

What do they keep on fighting for?

Pattern 1:
Victor was sent to some Red Army town
Served out his time, became a circus clown
The greatest happiness he ever found
Was making Russian children glad, and children lived in Leningrad.

Pattern 2:
Children lived in Levittown, headed for shelter underground
'Til the Soviets turned their ships around, tore the Cuban missiles down
And in that bright October sun we knew our childhood days were done
And I watched my friends go off to war
What do they keep on fighting for?

Pattern 1:
And so my child and I came to this place
To meet him eye to eye and face to face
He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced
We never knew what friends we had until we came to Leningrad.