x Artist: Mike & the Mechanics
Song Title: The Living Years
Album: The Living Years (1988)
Tabbed By: Cinthia G
[Chords in parenthesis are optional and played louder in the song]
Capo 1
[Intro]
G F#m Am D G
[Verse]
G C
Every generation Blames the one before
G C
And all of their frustrations Come beating on your door
F
I know that I'm a prisoner To all my Father held so dear
Am
I know that I'm a hostage To all his hopes and fears
D G
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
G C
Crumpled bits of paper Filled with imperfect thought
G C
Stilted conversations I'm afraid that's all we've got
F
You say you just don't see it He says it's perfect sense
Am
You just can't get agreement In this present tense
D G
We all talk a different language Talking in defence
[Chorus]
G C
Say it loud, say it clear
Am D G
You can listen as well as you hear
G C
It's too late when we die
Am D G
To admit we don't see eye to eye
[Verse]
G C
So we open up a quarrel Between the present and the past
G C
We only sacrifice the future It's the bitterness that lasts
F (F)
So Don't yield to the fortunes You sometimes see as fate
Am
It may have a new perspective On a different day
D G
And if you don't give up, and don't give in You may just be OK.
[Chorus]
G C
Say it loud, say it clear
Am D G
You can listen as well as you hear
G C
It's too late when we die
Am D G
To admit we don't see eye to eye
[Verse]
G C
I wasn't there that morning When my Father passed away
G C
I didn't get to tell him All the things I had to say
F (F)
I think I caught his spirit Later that same year
Am (Am)
I'm sure I heard his echo In my baby's new born tears
D G
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
[Chorus]
G C
Say it loud, say it clear
Am D G
You can listen as well as you hear
G C
It's too late when we die
Am D G
To admit we don't see eye to eye
