Intro
| G#7 | % | % | % |
| D#7 | % | G#7 | % |
(break)
[Verse 1]
G#7
Everybody’s asking why he couldn’t adjust
G#7
Adjust to what, a dream that bust?
D#7
He was a clean-cut kid
G#7
Well, they made a killer out of him, that’s what they did
(break)
| G#7 | % | % | % |
| D#7 | % | G#7 | % |
(break)
[Verse 2]
G#7
They said what’s up is down, they said what isn’t is
G#7
They put ideas in his head he thought were his
D#7
He was a clean-cut kid
G#7
But they made a killer out of him, that’s what they did
(break)
| G#7 | % | % | % |
| D#7 | % | G#7 | % |
(break)
[Verse 3]
G#7
He was on the baseball team, he was in the marching band
G#7
When he was ten years old he had a watermelon stand
D#7
He was a clean-cut kid
G#7
They made a killer out of him, that’s what they did
(break)
| G#7 | % | % | % |
| D#7 | % | G#7 | % |
(break)
[Bridge 1]
C#
They said, “Listen boy, you’re just a pup”
G#7
They sent him to a napalm health spa to shape up
A#7
They gave him dope to smoke, drinks and pills
D#7
D# jeep to drive, blood to spill
(break)
[Verse 4]
G#7
They said “Congratulations, you got what it takes”
G#7
They sent him back into the rat race without any brakes
D#7
He was a clean-cut kid
G#7
They made a killer out of him, that’s what they did
(break)
| G#7 | % | % | % |
| D#7 | % | G#7 | % |
(break)
[Bridge 2]
C#
He bought the American dream but it put him in debt
G#7
The only game he could play was Russian roulette
A#7
He drank Coca-Cola, he was eating Wonder Bread
D#7
Ate Burger Kings, he was well fed
(break)
[Verse 5]
G#7
He went to Hollywood to see Peter O’Toole
G#7
He stole a Rolls-Royce and drove it in a swimming pool
D#7
They took a clean-cut kid
G#7
And they made a killer out of him, that’s what they did
(break)
| G#7 | % | % | % |
| D#7 | % | G#7 | % |
(break)
[Bridge 3]
C#
He could’ve sold insurance, owned a restaurant or bar
G#7
Could’ve been an accountant or a tennis star
A#7
He was wearing boxing gloves, took a dive one day
D#7
Off the Golden Gate Bridge into China Bay
(break)
[Verse 6]
G#7
His mama walks the floor, his daddy weeps and moans
G#7
They gotta sleep together in a home they don’t own
D#7
They took a clean-cut kid
G#7
And they made a killer out of him, that’s what they did
(break)
| G#7 | % | % | % |
| D#7 | % | G#7 | % |
(break)
[Bridge 4]
C#
Well, everybody’s asking why he couldn’t adjust
G#7
All he ever wanted was somebody to trust
A#7
They took his head and turned it inside out
D#7
He never did know what it was all about
(break)
[Verse 7] + coda
G#7
He had a steady job, he joined the choir
G#7
He never did plan to walk the high wire
D#7
They took a clean-cut kid
G#7 G#7
And they made a killer out of him, that’s what they did
(break)