Walk On The Wild Side chords

by Lou Reed

Song Key: C Major

Time Signature: 4/4

Tempo: 104 bpm

Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e

Skill Level: Beginner 🟢

Guitar Chords: C, F, F6, D

Arrangement F6 Dampening Song Details

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Walk On The Wild Side

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                C      F6      C      F6      C      F6      C      F6 
Intro: 4/4  ‖       |      |       |      |       |      |       |      ‖

   C                               F6
1. Hol-ly came from Mi-am-i  F. L. A. 
   C                                   F6
   Hitch-hiked her way ac-ross the U.S.A.
   C                     D
   Plucked her eye-brows on the way
   F                        D  
   Shaved her legs and then he was a she   She says
   C                              F6       
   Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side    
        C                               F6      
   Said Hey Honey    Take a walk on the wild side

         C         F6         C         F6
    ‖         |          |         |         ‖

   C                           F6
2. Can-dy came from out on the is-land
   C                                       F6
   In the back-room she was ev'-ry-bo-dy's dar-lin'
   C              D
   But she ne-ver lost her head
   F                  D
   E-ven when she was giv-in’ head    She says
   C                              F6      
   Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side
        C                              F6
   Said Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side (And the col-ored girls go)

        C                                F6
   ‖: Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo | Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo :‖ x4

       C          F6          C         F6
   ‖  (doo)  |          |          |          ‖

   C                                 F6
3. Lit-tle Joe ne-ver once gave it a-way
   C                           F6
   Ev-‘ry-bo-dy had to pay and pay
     C                  D
   A hus-tle here and a hus-tle there
   F                D
   New York City is the place where they said
   C                              F6      
   Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side
          C                             F6
   I said Hey Joe    Take a walk on the wild side

         C         F6          C         F6
    ‖         |          |          |          ‖

   C                                  F6
4. Sug-ar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets
   C                                     F6
   Look-in' for soul food and a place to eat
   C           D
   Went to the A-pol-lo
       F                    D
   You should have seen him go go go    They said
   C                                F6    
   Hey Sug-ar    Take a walk on the wild side
          C                              F6
   I said Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side    All-right 

         C            F6          C         F6
   ‖        (huh)|          |          |          ‖

   C                           F6
5. Jack-ie is just spee-ding a-way
   C                                F6
   Thought she was James Dean for a day
   C                D
   Then I guess she had to crash
   F                   D
   Val-i-um would have helped that bash    I said
   C                              F6
   Hey Babe    Take a walk on the wild side    I  said   
   C                               F6
   Hey Honey    Take a walk on the wild side   (And the col-ored girls say)

      C                                 F6
   ‖: Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo | Doo doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo :‖ x6
 
       C          F6         C          F6
   ‖  (doo)  |          |          |          ‖... repeat to fade

Arrangement Details:

Key Signature: C Major – no sharps or flats
Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
Tempo: Moderately
Metronome: ♩ = 104
Voice Range: F3 - A4
Chord Types in This Arrangement:
- Major chords: C, F, D
- 6th chord: F6

Understanding the F6 Chord

A 6th chord is built from the scale degrees 1–3–5–6. So for F6, the chord tones are:

F (1)
A (3)
C (5)
D (6)

A very easy way to play F6 on guitar is to start with your open‑position F chord (as shown in your chord charts) and simply add your 4th finger to the 3rd fret on the 2nd string.
That note is D, which gives you the all‑important 6th.

This particular shape doesn’t include the C‑note, which is the 5th of the chord.
But that’s completely fine:

The 6th (D) is the defining colour of the chord
The 5th is the least essential chord tone and is often omitted

In practice, this shape sounds great and is a perfect beginner‑friendly way to introduce the warm, jazzy flavor of a 6th chord.

Dampening Tips for Beginners

The song requires that you dampen the C and F6 chords in each verse. It is always much easier to dampen barre chords, as all the strings are covered, and when you take pressure off the barre chord all strings are silent.
With an open C chord however, only 2 strings are covered and 3 strings are open, so when you take the pressure off the strings, the 3 open strings still sound. An accomplished player will dampen with the strumming hand in this case.
If you are a beginner and haven't perfected the art of dampening strings with the strumming hand, you may find it hard to dampen an open C chord.
In this situation you can play it as a barre chord starting on the 3rd fret and playing an 'A' shape, written as x35553.
As you play the C barre and release the chord, it will dampen.
```
C Major: C-E-G (barre chord)
🎸 Frets  Notes Fingers
e|---3---  ← G    1st
B|---5---  ← E    4th
G|---5---  ← C    3rd
D|---5---  ← G    2nd
A|---3---  ← C    1st  
E|-------
```
If you haven't learned barre chords, you can play C Major starting on the 3rd fret and playing an 'A' shape (just like the previous voicing), except you will omit the 5th & 6th strings, written as xx5553.
This is simply the second inversion of C major starting with the note G instead of C.
```
C Major: C-E-G
🎸 Frets  Notes Fingers
e|---3---  ← G    1st
B|---5---  ← E    4th
G|---5---  ← C    3rd
D|---5---  ← G    2nd
A|-------    
E|-------
```
With the open F6 chord, all the strings are covered - when you strum and release the chord, it will dampen... hope this helps.

Song Details:

Songwriters: Lou Reed
Lyrics Begin: Holly came from Miami F.L.A.
Genre: Glam rock
Featured Artist: Lou Reed
Album: Transformer
Recorded: August 1972
Released: November 8, 1972
Single:
Recorded: August 1972
Released: November 24, 1972
B-side: Perfect Day

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