Ball And Chain chords by Big Brother & the Holding Company, Janis Joplin (Official Version)

GuitarPianoUkulele

Intro 1
F#m 
Bm 
 (F sharp minor)  (B minor) 
F#m 
F#m 
 (F sharp minor)  (F sharp minor) 
Bm 
Bm 
 (B minor)  (B minor) 
F#m 
F#m 
 (F sharp minor)  (F sharp minor) 
C#m 
Bm 
 (C sharp minor)  (B minor) 
F#m 
Bm 
C#7 
 (F sharp minor)  (B minor)  (C sharp7) 

Verse 1
F#m 
Bm 
 (F sharp minor) Sitting down by the window  (B minor) 
F#m 
Honey, looking out at  (F sharp minor) the rain
Lord, lord, lord
Bm 
 (B minor) Sitting down by the window
F#m 
Baby, looking out  (F sharp minor) at the rain
C#m 
 (C sharp minor) Some' came along,
Bm 
grabbed a hold of me  (B minor) 
A 
G# 
F#m 
And it felt  (A major) just like  (G sharp major) a ball and chain  (F sharp minor) 
Bm 
Honey, that's ex (B minor) actly what it felt like
C#7 
 (C sharp7) Honey, just dragging me down

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Chorus 1
F#m 
And I say,  (F sharp minor) oh,   whoa, whoa, whoa,
Bm 
now hun, tell me  (B minor) why
Why does every single little tiny thing
F#m 
I  (F sharp minor) hold  on goes wrong?
Yeah it all goes wrong, yeah
Bm 
And I say,  (B minor) oh, whoa, whoa, whoa,
now babe, tell me why
F#m 
Why's eve-  (F sharp minor) ry thing, every thing
C#m 
Hey,  (C sharp minor) hear you gone today,
Bm 
I wanted to love  (B minor) you
Honey, I just wanted to hold you,
F#m 
Bm 
I said, for so  (F sharp minor) long   (B minor) 
C#7 
Yeah!  (C sharp7) Alright! Hey!

Verse 2
F#m 
Bm 
 (F sharp minor) Love's got a hold on me, baby  (B minor) 
F#m 
Feels  (F sharp minor) just like a ball and chain
Bm 
Now,  (B minor) love's just dragging me down,
baby, yeah
F#m 
Feels like a  (F sharp minor) ball  and chain
C#m 
 (C sharp minor) I hope there's someone out there
who could tell me
Bm 
Why the man  (B minor) I love wants to leave me
F#m 
in so much pain  (F sharp minor) 
Bm 
C#7 
Yeah,  (B minor) maybe, maybe you could help me,  (C sharp7) 
come on, help me!

Chorus 2
F#m 
And I'll say,  (F sharp minor) oh,   whoa, whoa, whoa,
Bm 
now hun, tell me  (B minor) why
Now tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me,
F#m 
 (F sharp minor) tell  me, tell me why, yeah
Bm 
And I'll say,  (B minor) oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
when I ask you
F#m 
When I need  (F sharp minor) to know why,
come on tell me why, hey hey hey
C#m 
 (C sharp minor) Hear you gone today,
Bm 
I wanted to  (B minor) love you and hold you
F#m 
Bm 
Until the day I die  (F sharp minor)  (B minor) 
C#7 
I said  (C sharp7) whoa, whoa, whoa!!

Solo 1
F#m 
Bm 
 (F sharp minor)  (B minor) 
F#m 
F#m 
 (F sharp minor)  (F sharp minor) 
Bm 
Bm 
 (B minor)  (B minor) 
F#m 
F#m 
 (F sharp minor)  (F sharp minor) 
C#m 
Bm 
 (C sharp minor)  (B minor) 
F#m 
Bm 
C#7 
 (F sharp minor)  (B minor)  (C sharp7) 

Chorus 3
F#m 
And I'll say  (F sharp minor) oh,   whoa, whoa, whoa, now hun
Bm 
F#m 
It ain't  (B minor) fair, now daddy it ain't fair what  (F sharp minor) you   do
I said honey what you're doing to me
and you know it ain't fair
Bm 
And I'll say,  (B minor) oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, now baby
F#m 
It ain't fair, now, now, now, what you  (F sharp minor) do
I said hun it ain't what,
hun it ain't fair what you do
C#m 
Oh,  (C sharp minor) hear you gone today
Bm 
and all I  (B minor) ever wanted to do
F#m 
Was to love  (F sharp minor) you
Bm 
 (B minor) Honey I just know
C#7 
there can't be nothing wrong with  (C sharp7) that

Verse 3
Honey it ain't wrong, no, no, no, no, no
F#m 
Bm 
 (F sharp minor) Sitting down by the window  (B minor) 
F#m 
Looking out  (F sharp minor) the rain
Bm 
Lord,  (B minor) lord, lord
Sitting down by the window
F#m 
 (F sharp minor) Looking out the rain, see the rain
C#m 
 (C sharp minor) Some' came along,
Bm 
grabbed a hold  (B minor) of me
A 
G# 
F#m 
And it felt  (A major) like  (G sharp major) a   ball and chain  (F sharp minor) 
Bm 
 (B minor) And I'm gonna tell you
C#7 
just  (C sharp7) one more time, yeah, yeah

Chorus 4
F#m 
And I'll say,  (F sharp minor) oh,   whoa, whoa, whoa,
now baby
Bm 
F#m 
This can't  (B minor) be, no this can't be in  (F sharp minor) vain
And I say no no no no no no no no, whoa!
Bm 
And I'll say,  (B minor) oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Now now now now
F#m 
now  (F sharp minor) now now, now, now, no no, not in vain
C#m 
Hey,  (C sharp minor) oh, I though you could tell me
Bm 
Hun, tell me why  (B minor) 
Oh, tell me why love is like
Just like a ball
Just like a ball
Ball
Oh daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy,
daddy, daddy, daddy
And a chain
F#m 
 (F sharp minor) Yeah!

1968Blues

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GuitarPianoUkulele

Tuning: E A D G B EDifficulty: IntermediateKey: F# minorBPM: 82

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Finger positions, low to high (E A D G B e). 0 is open, x is muted.

F#m: 2-4-4-2-2-2
Bm: x-2-4-4-3-x
C#m: x-4-6-6-5-x
C#7: x-4-6-4-6-x
A: x-0-2-2-2-0
G#: 4-6-6-5-4-4

Accurately transcribed by the GuitarTuna team.

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This is the definitive original version of Ball And Chain by Big Brother & The Holding Company, Janis Joplin, transcribed exactly as it was recorded in the studio. Unlike our simplified arrangement, this chart preserves the precise chord voicings and progressions in the original key of F# minor. It is designed for guitarists ready to move past the basics and capture the true feel of Big Brother & The Holding Company, Janis Joplin's performance.