Billy Joel - The Ballad of Billy the Kid: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

        G            Em                 F    Fsus4
From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia,
        G          Em             F  C D
rode a boy with a six-gun in his hand
         G               Em
And his daring life of crime,
            F             C
made him a legend in his time
 G        Am7         D7sus4
East and west of the Rio Grande

Well, he started with a bank in Colorado
In the pocket of his vest, a Colt he hid
And his age and his size
Took the teller by surprise
And the word spread of Billy the Kid

Chorus:
          C              D             Em
Well, he never traveled heavy, yes, he always
       Bm
rode alone
         C           C/D             G7sus4
And he soon put many older guns to shame
        C            D                Em
And he never had a sweetheart, and he never had
   Bm
a home
         C                               Dsus4 D
But the cowboy and the rancher knew his name

Well, he robbed his way
From Utah to Oklahoma
And the law just could not seem
To track him down
And it served his legend well
For the folks they loved to tell
'Bout when Billy the Kid came to town

Well, one cold day a posse captured Billy
And the judge said, "String him up
For what he did."
And the cowboys and their kin
Like the sea came pouring in
To watch the hanging of Billy the Kid

Chorus:
And he never traveled heavy
Yes he always rode alone
And he soon put many older guns to shame
And he never had a sweetheart
But he finally found a home
Underneath the boot hill grave
That bears his name

From a town known
As Oyster Bay, Long Island
Rode a boy with a six-pack in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Am7

Guitar chord Am7

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

D7sus4

Guitar chord D7sus4

Dsus4

Guitar chord Dsus4

Em

Guitar chord Em

F

Guitar chord F

Fsus4

Guitar chord Fsus4

G

Guitar chord G

G7sus4

Guitar chord G7sus4

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" by Billy Joel.

Billy Joel Song List