Deportee Chords

KeyD CapoNone TuningStandard Difficulty Plays427

Deportee by Richard Shindell is a moderately challenging guitar song played in the key of D. It uses the chords D, G, Bm and A. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.

Transpose
D
Text
16
Speed
  			Intro 
D                            G           D 
The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting 
                                G        D 
The oranges are packed in their creosote dumps 
        G                       D      Bm 
They're flying 'em back to that Mexico border 
   D                       G           D 
To take all their money to wade back a gain 

   D                       G          D 
My father's own father, he waded that river 
                           G           D 
They took all the money he made in his life 
   G                         D           Bm 
My brothers and sisters come working the fruit trees 
     D                             G            D 
They rode the big trucks till they lay down and died 

Chorus 
     G                    D 
Good bye to my Juan, good bye Rosalita 
    A                 D 
Adi os mis amigos, Je sus y Maria 
    G                          D            Bm 
You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane 
    D                           G        D 
And all they will call you will be depor tee 

Verse 
D                           G           D 
Some of us are illegal, and all are not wanted 
                                  G           D 
Our work contract's out and we've got to move on 
G                         D       Bm 
Six hundred miles to that Mexican border 
     D                           G              D 
They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves 
   D                      G            D 
We died in your hills, we died in your deserts 
                           G            D 
We died in your armies, we died on your plains 
   G                             D                 Bm 
We died 'neath your trees and we died 'neath those bushes 
     D                       G             D 
Both sides of that river, we died just the same 

Chorus 
    D                          G         D 
The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon 
                                 G             D 
Like a fireball of lightning, it shook all our hills 
    G                      D          Bm 
Who are all these friends, dying like dry leaves? 
    D                   G          D 
The radio says they are just depor tees 

Verse 
   D                        G            D 
Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards? 
                            G             D 
Is this the best way we can grow our good fruit? 
   G                        D         Bm 
To fall like dry leaves and rot on my topsoil 
    D                      G          D 
And be known by no name ex cept depor tee 

Chorus 
    D                          G         D 
The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon 
                                 G             D 
Like a fireball of lightning, it shook all our hills 
    G                      D          Bm 
Who are all these friends, dying like dry leaves? 
    D                   G          D 
The radio says they are just depor tees 
    	

Chord diagrams

Guitar tuner

--
Start the tuner and play a string

Reference tones

Standard tuning, lowest to highest. Click a string to play it; the string the mic hears is highlighted.

Click Start tuner and allow microphone access. The needle centers and turns green when a string is in tune (within 5 cents).
No microphone? You can still tap any string above to hear its exact reference pitch.

Metronome

100 BPM Andante