The White Stripes - Effect And Cause: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Effect And Cause" 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.

             A
I guess you have to have a problem
        E                    A
If you want to invent a contraption
first you cause a train wreck
                         E
And then you put me in traction
      A
well first came an action
And then a reaction
         D
But you can't switch around
For your own satisfaction
      A
Well you burnt my house down
          E          A
Then got mad at my reaction

Well in every complicated situation
There's a human relation
Making sense of it all
Take a whole lot of concentration
Well you can blame the baby
For her pregnant ma
And if there's one of these unavoidable laws

It's just that you can't just
take the effect and make it the cause

Chorus:
                D
Well you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
          A
I didn't rob a bank
because you made up the law
       D
Blame me for robbing peter
Don't you blame Paul
       A
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause

I ain't the reason that you gave me
No reason to return your call
You built a house of cards
And got shocked when you saw them fall
Well I ain't saying I'm innocent
In fact the reverse
But if your heading to the grave
you Don't blame the hearse
You're like a little girl yelling at her brother
Cause you lost his ball

You keep blaming me for what you did
And that ain't all
The way you clean up the wreck
Is enough to give one pause
You seem to forget just how this song started
I'm reacting to you
because you left me broken hearted

See you just can't just take the effect
and make it the cause

Chorus

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Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

D

Guitar chord D

E

Guitar chord E

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 "Effect And Cause" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Effect And Cause" by The White Stripes.

The White Stripes Song List