[Intro]
[A]
[Verse]
There was a fire in the sky over Gratiot
You could [D]see it all the way from Spring[A]wells
[E]Standing on the front lawn in the [F#m]blackness
Holding [E]fast to mama's knees
The whole block on the street
When Detroit was [A]burning
[Verse]
Dad said this had been coming for sometime
The [D]black guys on the line had told him [A]so
The [E]city of the ghettoes burned on [F#m]fire
There was [E]nothing on the news
But all the neighbours knew
When Detroit was [A]burning
[Chorus]
When [D]Detroit was burning, burning[F#m]
When [D]Detroit was burning, burning [E]down
[Verse]
There were [A]no kids in the park on Saturday
The [D]Guardsmen set up tents under the [A]swings
They [E]drove their jeeps around Vernor [F#m]Highway
Then they'd [E]go downtown at night
To shoot everything in sight
When Detroit was [A]burning
[Bridge]
[D]I was just a little girl [A]playing with my friends
I [D]didn't know what it meant to [E]live in a black kid's skin
I'm [D]older now and there's still so much I don't under[E]stand
[Instrumental]
[A] [D] [A] [E] [F#m] [E] [A]
[Verse]
The farmer's market's thriving down on Gratiot
But there's [D]fire in the night around Spring[A]wells
[E]Detroit wasn't reborn from the [F#m]ashes
It's been [E]nearly thirty years
And hate's still living here
Where Detroit was [A]burning
[Chorus]
When [D]Detroit was burning, burning[F#m]
When [D]Detroit was burning, burning [E]down
[Bm]Our hometown burning[F#m] down
[A]
[Verse]
There was a fire in the sky over Gratiot
You could [D]see it all the way from Spring[A]wells
[E]Standing on the front lawn in the [F#m]blackness
Holding [E]fast to mama's knees
The whole block on the street
When Detroit was [A]burning
[Verse]
Dad said this had been coming for sometime
The [D]black guys on the line had told him [A]so
The [E]city of the ghettoes burned on [F#m]fire
There was [E]nothing on the news
But all the neighbours knew
When Detroit was [A]burning
[Chorus]
When [D]Detroit was burning, burning[F#m]
When [D]Detroit was burning, burning [E]down
[Verse]
There were [A]no kids in the park on Saturday
The [D]Guardsmen set up tents under the [A]swings
They [E]drove their jeeps around Vernor [F#m]Highway
Then they'd [E]go downtown at night
To shoot everything in sight
When Detroit was [A]burning
[Bridge]
[D]I was just a little girl [A]playing with my friends
I [D]didn't know what it meant to [E]live in a black kid's skin
I'm [D]older now and there's still so much I don't under[E]stand
[Instrumental]
[A] [D] [A] [E] [F#m] [E] [A]
[Verse]
The farmer's market's thriving down on Gratiot
But there's [D]fire in the night around Spring[A]wells
[E]Detroit wasn't reborn from the [F#m]ashes
It's been [E]nearly thirty years
And hate's still living here
Where Detroit was [A]burning
[Chorus]
When [D]Detroit was burning, burning[F#m]
When [D]Detroit was burning, burning [E]down
[Bm]Our hometown burning[F#m] down
