Pussy Riot – Putin Lights Up the Fires (Chords)

I always think the best protest songs are the ones by the people directly affected by the issue. And Pussy Riot’s latest adds weight to that by being the best song by political prisoners since Mzwakhe Mbuli’s Triple B.

I’ve included phonetic lyrics cribbed from this site which also has the English translation.

In better news, West Papuan campaigner and ukulelist Benny Wenda‘s INTERPOL red notice has been lifted after it was recognised as being politically motivated.

Suggested Strumming

For a simple – and suitably punky – strum, in the intro and verses just this once for the A and G#:

d u d u d u d u

Then on the F# keep the same pattern but mute the strings (by releasing the pressure on the chord) so you’re playing this:

d u x x d u x x

Or you can do this little twiddle similar to the guitar part:

Together those sound like this:

Strum MP3

In the chorus it’s two down strums for the C, one each for the B and A. Then back to the pattern for F#.

Twiddly Bits

And here’s a uke version of the solo.

Visit FreePussyRiot.org

UPDATE: Here’s Melbourne Ukulele Kollective playing Pussy Riot’s Punk Prayer.