[1st Verse]
  G                                    D
I once thought of love as a prison,
    C                            G
A place I didn't want to be,
Am                    G
So long ago, I made a decision
         Am                         D
To be footloose and fancy-free.
      G                               D
But you came and I was so tempted,
     C                                 G
To gamble on love just one time,
   Am                G
I never thought, I would get caught,
    Am                              D
It seemed like the perfect crime.
[Chorus]
C                          G
Baby you left me defenseless,
C                       G
I've only got one plea,
Am                     G
Lock me away, inside of your love,
       Am                  D
And throw away the key.
      C
I'm guilty,
    D                        G
Of love in the first degree.
[2nd Verse]
G                                 D
I thought it would be so simple,
          C                       
Like a thousand times before,
     Am                               G
I'd take what I wanted, and just walk away,
        Am                         D
But I never made it to the door.
       G                                  D
Now babe I'm not begging for mercy,
       C                                      G
Go ahead and throw the book at me,
   Am                          G
If loving you's a crime, I know that I'm
     Am                        D
As guilty as a man can be.
[Chorus]
C                          G
Baby you left me defenseless,
C                       G
I've only got one plea,
Am                     G
Lock me away, inside of your love,
       Am                  D
And throw away the key.
      C
I'm guilty,
    D                        G
Of love in the first degree.
         C                G
Tag:  Love in the first degree.