Bruce Springsteen - Santa Ana: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Santa Ana" on your guitar with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. 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.

Learn Santa Ana Guitar Chords and Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the guitar chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform "Santa Ana" smoothly on your guitar.

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

          C       D              G
From the tin rooftop the little boy did watch
      C         D            G
The procession down through town
   C           D          G
Thrugh the museum where Daniel whupped the Devil
           C            D       G
With them boys from the underground

Where the giants of science fight for tight control
Over the wild lands of New Mexico
Sam Houston's ghost's in
Texas fighting for his soul

Chorus:
         Am               Em               G
And the townsfolk rest uneasy beneath the guns
        D   C D
of Kid Cole
                   G     C            D
And the kid says "Hey, where's Santa Ana?"
        G                 C         D
He who could romance the dumb into talking
         G               C            D
Take a chance with me tonight, my contessa
       G                      C           D
If it don't work out I ain't lame, I can walk hey

Now some folks think cancer's taken to
the streets of this town
But Sandy eats her candy and then lays
her money down
Them cats are in from the canyons
to strut their stuff in town
But there's only secret sinners here
Lord, there's only secret thieves
Only a fool would try to save
What the desert chose to leave

Chorus:
And now hey there, señorita
With your playboys in their Spanish bandanas
French cream won't soften those boots, baby
French kisses will not break your heart (Oh)

    Em                Bm
Oh painted night set free with light
         Am                  Em
Glows outside the Rainbow Saloon
                               Bm
Matching braces with a Spanish lady
          Am         Em
'Neath a graduation moon
         C                     D
No more colleges, no more coronations
             G        D/F#     Em
Some punk's idea of a teenage nation
                 Am                 Em
Has forced Santa Ana to change his station
      G              Dsus4 D
From soldier to cartoon

And the giants of science spend their days
and nights
Not with wives, not with lovers, but searchin'
for the lights
They spotted in the desert on their helicopter
flights
Just to be lost in the dust and the night

Chorus:
Hey, oh my Contessa
In your juke joint rags you always bring
candy for the kids
Come waltz with me tonight, señorita
'Cause only fools are alone on a night
like this (Oh)

Ah ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya
Oh, who you callin', come on darlin'
Alright
Oh
Oh alright
Oh, oh, oh


You can simplify chords by removing barre

Transpose

Reset

Font Size

Reset

Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

Am

Guitar chord Am

Bm

Guitar chord Bm

C

Guitar chord C

D

Guitar chord D

Dsus4

Guitar chord Dsus4

Em

Guitar chord Em

F#

Guitar chord F#

G

Guitar chord G

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 "Santa Ana" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Santa Ana" by Bruce Springsteen.

Bruce Springsteen Song List