One, two, three, four!
C, G, F
C, G, F, Fm
Am, G
(no guitar during this part)
I was kidnapped real young by the sweet taste of love
Built a fondness for things that just weren't good enough
I cradled the crow, always shooed off the dove
Which tagged me a naïve son
C
So the fortunate kids, yeah they left on their lights
G F
And they stuck up their noses and started some fights
C
Their parents all cackled at dirt on my hands
F Fm
While my father was slaving, my mother explained it
Am (wait a little bit then strum G real fast)
Sometimes that's just how it is
C
So my sister went kissing a maple-skinned boy
G F
Finally held up her fists, said "I'm done being coy!"
C G
And the neighbourhood boys started buzzing with joy
F Fm
We finally had front-page news
C
Although it was sad, I couldn't help but laugh
G F
Such ridiculous hate in the hot summer sweat
C G
I laid on my back, let the punk record spin
F Fm
The stomping guitar, it was shooting out stars
Am G F Fm
It all went to my heart, yeah some rainbows in the dark
C F
So I called up danger, my friends and some strangers
C F
They stumbled and wavered, one called me his saviour
C F
They slipped me the blood in the whole of the vial
G F
But I didn't feel them change
Am, G ---don't miss this little interlude here---
C
Then I met a man with a fist for a hand
G F
Held me flat on my back, taught me how to give in
C G
Some phrases were shot, pretty roses got tossed
F Fm
The gift of a fat-lipped grin
C
Now they're drilling my teeth while I'm soiling sheets
G F
With my lover, she's counting the diamonds on rings
C G
And even when truth doesn't help with the sting
F Fm
Out of no numbers, some harsh looking colour
Am G
You pull them out, feel they're changed
F Fm
No need for a thousand cranes
C F
So I thank the city, the lights that it's spinning
C F
The friends that I have and the shoes we’re not shining
C F
The drunk horn’s so violent, all spinning out sounds
G --- it sounds like there is no chord change here, but I am not sure ---
But the colour’s so vibrant , the colour’s so loud
C F
The newly-born crying realizing what life is
C F
In the eyes of my grandpa, the right people dying
C F
The see-saw of love, its rickety bounce
G -- again with no chord change?? --
The feeling of coming, the feeling of going
D G
The mother, the child, the tame and the wild
D G
The sleeping in minor, the gold leaf, the tire
D G
The crooked, the straight, all the hip and the fake
F Fm
Oh, I'm finally feeling the stitching of beautiful seams
C F G
Sometimes you just can't hold back the river
Sometimes you just can't hold back the river
Sometimes you just can't hold back the river
Sometimes you just can't hold back the river
F G F G F G
Hold back the river, hold back the river, hold back the river
end with
F, Fm, Am
