If simplification desired (basic major/minor)
each main riff repeat
G#m | | C# | D#m |
transition into chorus
G#m | | C# | D#m E# |
^ enharmonic with F
each chorus section
A#m | D# | x4
^ may be easiest with capo 4, transpose down 4 half-steps (first chord Em)
alternatively, capo 1, transpose down 1 half-step (first chord Am - all chords with removed sharps)
ORDER: I V1 C1 V2 C2 INT1 V3 C3 C4 B INT2 V4 C5 V5 FC
[INTRO]
n.c. | |
(keyboard shapes to be repeated)
e|-11----------------------11----11-------------9--|----9--9-----6-----6-----9--------6--------------|
B|-12----------12----------12----12-12----------7--|----7--7-----7-----7-----7--------7--------------|
G|-11----------11----------11----11-11-------------|-------------------------------------------------|
D|-------------13-------------------13----------8--|----8--8-----------------8-----------------------|
A|-11----------11----------11----11-11-------------|-------------6-----6--------------6--------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
G#m7 D#m7
e|-6-----------------------6--------------------4--|----4--4-----1-----1--4-----4--4--1--------------|
B|-7-----------7-----------7--------7-----------2--|----2--2-----2-----2--2-----2--2--2--------------|
G|-8-----------8-----------8--------8--------------|-------------------------------------------------|
D|-------------9--------------------9-----------3--|----3--3--------------3-----3--3-----------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------|-------------1-----1--------------1--------------|
E|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
Bmaj7 A#m7 G#m7
(continue keyboard shapes)
( G#m7 ) G#9sus4 | G#9sus4 Bmaj7/C# |
( Bmaj7/C# ) D#9sus4 | D#9sus4 |
(add rhythm guitar)
( G#m7 ) G#9sus4 | G#9sus4 C#9sus4 |
C#9sus4 D#9sus4 | D#9sus4 |
( G#m7 ) G#9sus4 | G#9sus4 C#9sus4 |
C#9sus4 D#9sus4 | D#9sus4 |
[VERSE 1]
G#m7
People of the world wherever you be,
G#9sus4
welcome to Cosmic YOUniversity.
C#9sus4
Where life is the journey and love is the trip
D#9sus4
And the stu - dy of them will make you hip.
G#m7
I'm professor of the rap and when I speak
G#9sus4
I guarantee that my lines will not be weak.
C#9sus4
They say a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
D#9sus4
That's why I'm here and on the case.
G#m7
Rapping up every mind with a special degree
G#9sus4
In socio - psycholo-G.B.E.
C#9sus4
The Gary Byrd Experience is my course.
D#9sus4
When you take my class, you will feel the force.
G#m7
'Cause I know the roots that the rap is from.
G#9sus4
When I speak to you I am not dumb.
C#9sus4
Hear my rap and begin to dance
D#9sus4
and I pro - mise you this: you will advance.
G#m7
You may have seen the Raiders of the Lost Ark,
G#9sus4
but you still left the theatre in the dark.
C#9sus4
So clap your hands to the beat as the Wondersound
D#9sus4 E#7sus2
And the G. B. E. shine on the crown.
[CHORUS 1]
A#m7 D#6
You wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, the crown.
[VERSE 2]
G#m7
I said once upon a time in Alkebu
G#9sus4
Lived the kings and queens who looked like you.
C#9sus4
It was a land of sun with a golden shine,
D#9sus4
A place that once was yours and mine.
G#m7
Home of a-many great dynasties
G#9sus4
Who crea - ted science and astronomy.
C#9sus4
Where the Ro - mans came to study math
D#9sus4
And the Greeks found out about the path.
G#m7
In case you wonder what else they did,
G#9sus4
The Alkebu - lans created the pyramids.
C#9sus4
And before Napoleon could even blink,
D#9sus4
In Alkebu there stood a giant sphinx.
G#m7
Some say they came from outer space,
G#9sus4
But they are a part of the human race.
C#9sus4
If you know the place where they can be found
D#9sus4 E#7sus2
You may be the one who can wear the crown.
[CHORUS 2]
A#m7 D#6
You wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, the crown.
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
you wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, Get down!
[INTERLUDE 1]
( G#m7 ) G#9sus4 | G#9sus4 C#9sus4 |
( C#9sus4 ) D#9sus4 | D#9sus4 |
We wear the crown
( G#m7 ) G#9sus4 | G#9sus4 C#9sus4 |
we wear the crown
( C#9sus4 ) D#9sus4 | D#9sus4 |
[VERSE 3]
G#m7
Not the greatest dancer with the baddest shoe,
G#9sus4
Not the slic - kest rapper that you ever knew
C#9sus4
have worn the crown though they wanted to
D#9sus4
And they'll want to until they die.
G#m7
Not a man of science with a PHD.,
G#9sus4
Not a la - dy of law, master's degree
C#9sus4
Will wear the crown unless they can see
D#9sus4
A unique reality.
G#m7
You see, when you say you wear the crown
G#9sus4
You make sure you know it is profound.
C#9sus4
In case it sounds like a mystery
D#sus4
I'm a-tal - king about our story.
G#m7
It can make Agamemnon nodd to you,
G#9sus4
It can make Nefertiti beckon you.
C#9sus4
With the crown you will begin to glow
D#9sus4
When its se - cret you begin to know.
G#m7
Next time you feel like you're in a rut
G#9sus4
Go see the mighty kingdom of King Tut.
C#9sus4
It'll blow your mind, no doubt, it's true
D#9sus4
'Cause, guess what, King Tut looks just like you.
G#m7
You were Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile.
G#9sus4
The sun would wink when it saw your smile.
C#9sus4
You were the Han - nibal of the history book
D#9sus4
And the Earth would tremble at your very look.
G#m7
You were the builders of the pyramids,
G#9sus4
You were the face upon the sphinx.
C#9sus4
You rode on the Nile in grace and style.
D#9sus4
Look at yourself today and think.
G#m7
See the hieroglyphics upon the wall;
G#9sus4
like the dan - cers on the floor they will not fall.
C#9sus4
If you take one look, it will astound
D#9sus4 D#/E# E#7sus2
And then you will see who wears the crown.
[CHORUS 3]
A#m7 D#6
You wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, the crown.
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
you wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, Get down!
[CHORUS 4]
(guitar/drums/vox only)
A#m7 D#6
You wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, the crown.
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
you wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
(bass in)
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, Get down!
[BRIDGE]
A#m7 D#6
I do recall so very well, when I was just a little boy.
A#m7 D#6
I used to hur - ry home from school, I used to al - ways feel so blue
A#m7 D#6 A#m7 D#6
Because there was no mention in the books we read about my heritage.
A#m7 D#6
So therefore a - ny information that I got was education.
A#m7 D#6
Bums, hobos at depot stations, I would li - sten with much patience
A#m7 D#6 A#m7 D#6
Or to re - latives who told the tales that they were told to pass ahead.
A#m7 D#6
Ah, but then one day from someone old, I heard a sto - ry never told
A#m7 D#6
Of all the king - doms of my people and then how we fought for freedom.
A#m7 D#6
All about the many things we have unto the world contributed...
A#m7 D#6
You wear the crown.
[INTERLUDE 2]
( G#m7 ) G#9sus4 | G#9sus4 C#9sus4 |
( C#9sus4 ) D#9sus4 | D#9sus4 |
We wear the crown
( G#m7 ) G#9sus4 | G#9sus4 C#9sus4 |
we wear the crown
( C#9sus4 ) D#9sus4 | D#9sus4 |
[VERSE 4]
G#m7
It's not Star Wars, it's not Superman,
G#9sus4
It's not the sto - ry of the Ku-Klux-Klan.
C#9sus4
The crown will appear in the G.B.E.,
D#9sus4
But it's ne - ver seen on your TV.
G#m7
It's in black and white in your gold mine,
G#9sus4
A picture so old it defies time.
C#9sus4
A - lex Haley drew it in his book
D#9sus4
It's what Kun - ta kept in his other foot.
G#m7
Ghana Songhay and old Mali,
G#9sus4
They are the roots of your own family tree.
C#9sus4
Kingdom so vast and knowledge wise
D#9sus4
They removed cataracts from human eyes.
G#m7
And yet today, some refuse to see
G#9sus4
and live in fear of their discovery.
C#9sus4
Now in four - teen-hundred and ninety-two
D#9sus4
Colum - bus sailed the ocean - true.
G#m7
But years before in Alkebu,
G#9sus4
A ship set sail with a chocolate crew.
C#9sus4
Two thou - sand years before Columbo came,
D#9sus4
The Olmecs built tributes to their fame.
G#m7
Stone heads with faces eight feet high
G#9sus4
that the Hulk could not lift to his thigh.
C#9sus4
Though the facts historians avoid
D#9sus4
First to arrive was the Africoid.
G#m7
It may shock the House and Shockley too
G#9sus4
And if you're not prepared, it may shock you.
C#9sus4
While some had doubts that the world was round
D#9sus4 E#7sus2
In Ame - rica, guess who wore the crown?
[CHORUS 5]
A#m7 D#6
You wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, Get down!
[VERSE 5]
G#m7
When you wear the crown you will not need
G#9sus4
to smoke, to coke, to dust, or speed.
C#9sus4
With the crown, you can become the high
D#9sus4
And you will make it if you try.
G#m7
But don't you ever forget what it will take;
G#9sus4
to wear the crown you cannot fake.
C#9sus4
If you're gon - na lead, you gotta be a king
D#9sus4
And give the world your everything.
G#m7
Or be a man like Malcolm X
G#9sus4
And demand for all the very best,
C#9sus4
Or conduct a railroad like Harriet;
D#9sus4
We all owe her a lifetime debt.
G#m7
If you're gon - na fight, don't do it free,
G#9sus4
make 'em pay to see just like Ali.
C#9sus4
Or sing like Ella and make them guess
D#9sus4
Is it you or is it Memorex?
G#m7
If you play a sport, become number one
G#9sus4
like Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson.
C#9sus4
Make Doc - tor J. your shining star
D#9sus4
Shoot like Magic, dunk with Jabbar.
G#m7
Or if you can write, then write some books
G#9sus4
like Lang - ston Hughes or our Ms. Brooks.
C#9sus4
If you think you're smart, don't deceive us,
D#9sus4
Be an Im - hotep, be a genius.
G#m7
And don't let anybody confuse the fact.
G#9sus4
You don't wear the crown just because you're black.
C#9sus4
Everybo - dy in the world has a crown in place
D#9sus4
That becomes their culture and their face.
G#m7
And so it is, we will not deny
G#9sus4
Our hi - story or buy the lie.
C#9sus4
We have no claim to be renowned
D#9sus4 E#7sus2
When we were first to wear the crown.
[FINAL CHORUS]
A#m7 D#6
You wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, the crown.
A#m7 D#6
I wear the crown,
A#m7 D#6
you wear the crown.
A#m7 D#6
So proud to say that we all
A#m7 D#6
wear the crown, Get down!
(repeat to fade)
Source: https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/gary_byrd_the_g_b_experience/the_crown_chords_2053071