How to play Streets of Minneapolis by Bruce Springsteen. Presented in a new format I call "Super Lead Sheets" this gives far more than mere chord symbols and lyrics; it shows players how to really understand the song.
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STREETS OF MINNEAPOLIS
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
This Super Lead Sheet helps you to learn Streets Of Minneapolis, released by Bruce Springsteen on January 28, 2026
🎸I show three ways to play the chords for this song: an easy version, an intermediate version, and the exact chord voicing Bruce uses.
🎸I show two rhythmic strum patterns that Bruce uses, and tips on simpler ones.
🎸I show how to sing it by finding the starting pitch of the vocal melody.
🎸Below are free printable lead sheets, tips on playing, Bruce's video, and Rhythm Backing Tracks for practicing to.
A lot of people are calling Streets Of Minneapolis a protest song. I disagree.
This is a story. It’s a tragic one and an important one.
But Springsteen has never protested really; rather he has always told stories. He has often addressed large social issues but he has always done so by keeping his focus squarely on an individual, or a group of people, who are going through troubles.
Bruce has always, always been concerned foremost with how the world is affecting individual people, and how they are responding.
Lost in the Flood, 1973: about a dystopian local conflict in which lives are lost and characters lose their conscience and their goodness.
Born in the USA, 1984: about a Vietnam Veteran who feels abandoned by his country.
Streets Of Philadelphia, 1993: about a man dying within the AIDS epidemic, searching for connection with a friend.
This is why his songs hit so hard. It makes them real.
Whether he is speaking in first person, or second or third person, he writes on a personal level.
What happens on the boardwalk, in the barrio, in a city, in a country - impacts everyone. And that I think is Bruce’s overriding concern. There is no vacuum. Not a single deed makes no difference.
And everyone is responsible for everyone else. There is no way to break the connection.
And someone said, "Hey man, did you see that?
His body hit the street with such a beautiful thud"
I wonder what the dude was sayin'
Or was he just lost in the flood?
Who is this super lead sheet for?
For chordal players: guitar, ukulele, or piano. But the details I provide are specifically for guitarists.
The level is pretty easy: know basic major chords, keep time, have enough brain waves left to change your playing when you choose to. Also for anyone who listens or plays and wants to know this song better.
LEAD SHEET
PITCH VOCABULARY
Key: D major
Chords: D G A7
Simple open position chords work.
But Bruce plays it in Drop D tuning. See my tutorial video for several ways to play the chords.
RHYTHM VOCABULARY
Meter: Quadruple Simple
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 110bpm
Strum Pattern Rhythms:
“Swiss Army Strum” = Down - Down/Up - Up/Down/Up.
OR
“3-3-2 strum” is what Bruce uses in the first verse. Just strum all Downs, counting “1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2”
Learning & Playing Strategies
The Chords:
In the video below I give adaptations for three different levels of chord complexity
- Easy - just play the standard chords, in normal guitar tuning
- Bigger and better - Springsteen uses Drop D tuning on this recording. The chords are similar to standard chords.
- Bruce's chords - he gets some wonderful textures and a sort of a little melody happening on the B string. For the big kids!
Singing it:
IF you are unsure how to begin singing this song, it will help you a lot to know the starting pitch. If you can match that, you can probably do okay taking it from there.
Starting Pitch of the vocal melody:
On the guitar, play the G string at the second fret.
(The G is the 3rd string, that is third from the bottom, third skinniest.)
Old style Lead Sheet with lyrics and chords
FREE PRINTABLE LEAD SHEETS BELOW!
Traditional, old style lead sheet with lyrics and chords.
Free
VIDEOS & MORE
Rhythm Backing Tracks (RBTs)
Below are Rhythm Backing Tracks for you to play along with.
These enable your success in playing along b/c it's just drums, so you can focus on your rhythm and fitting in with The Rhythm without having to worry about the chord changes or vocals or anything.
It's a great way to practice, in particular because you can work through it at three different tempos.
Slower tempo: easier for learning - plenty of time to think and change your fingers
Original Song +
The whole song for you to play along.
LYRICS
Through the winter’s ice and cold
Down Nicollet Avenue
A city aflame fought fire and ice
‘Neath an occupier’s boots
King Tchump’s private army from the DHS
Guns belted to their coats
Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law
Or so their story goes
Against smoke and rubber bullets
By the dawn’s early light
Citizens stood for justice
Their voices ringing through the night
And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets
Alex Pretti and Renee Good
[chorus]
Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Here in our home they killed and roamed
In the winter of ’26
We’ll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis
Trump’s federal thugs beat up on
His face and his chest
Then we heard the gunshots
And Alex Pretti lay in the snow, dead
Their claim was self defense, sir
Just don’t believe your eyes
It’s our blood and bones
And these whistles and phones
Against Miller and Noem’s dirty lies
[ second 1/2 chorus]
Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Crying through the bloody mist
We’ll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis
[harp solo. same as above. second 1/2 chorus]
Now they say they’re here to uphold the law
But they trample on our rights
If your skin is black or brown my friend
You can be questioned or deported on sight
In our chants of ICE out now
Our city’s heart and soul persists
Through broken glass and bloody tears
On the streets of Minneapolis
Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
Here in our home they killed and roamed
In the winter of ’26
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
We’ll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis [w/o the extra bar of D]
We’ll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis
Curious for info about my Super Lead Sheet format?
click here.
Do You Wanna Know More?
KNOW THIS: when you play chords, you are a member of the and. Now when listening to music, usually we pay attention mainly to the singer and the lyrics - usually. However now . . . . . that's not your job.
YOUR JOB: is to play backup for the singer, you lay down the groove. You follow the singer, which means you follow the structure of the song.
And you count. Always. “Long as I remember!”
- Average lead sheets don’t provide enough information to play the song, unless you already understand music very well. In other words they are useless as a learning tool.
- My Super Lead Sheets give you what you need to learn, know, play the song in a satisfying way, right off the bat. They give you a basic way to play the song with minimal skill sets.
- Furthermore they set you up to build on your basic playing so that you can advance both logically and artistically. Yes, I said artistically. Because you can be artistic right off the bat - you don’t need to wait until some vague future in which you are ‘really good’.
