Intro (Live) Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Verse 1]
[G]We [Am]put out a new r[G]ecord last
fall called American Band
and this was the first song I wrote for the
record
and when I wrote it
I wasn't really even thinking
in terms of writing a song for my band
or [Bm]anything it was
[G]it was [Bm]way more personal
than that it [G]wasn't
it wasn't political
[C]it was personal
[Am]an d[Bm] I'd b[C]een watc[G]h
ing the news
about three years [D]ago
and [G]we were just out touring
behind a new [C]record
so we weren't [G]even thinking
about making another record
yet [C]that wasn't the plan
and all [G]the stuff was coming on the news
the Ferguson decision
and [C]Trayvon Martin and [G]Cleveland
it just kept happening [Am]every
where and [G]I remember
I remember a neighbor I'd had
when I first moved to Georgia,
which is one of the most lovely towns [C]in the world,
[G]an d I was living in this
neighborhood
that I could afford to move into
[D]on Ruth [G]Street,
and our neighbor across the street
was [C]this [G]older Afr[C]ican -American lady,
[G]and she was just as nice as she could
be.
She was always out working in her garden,
[C]and her [G]son was about early [Em]20s,
[C]and he [G]hadn't advanced beyond
about an eight or nine -year -old level as far as [C]he, you know,
[G]he had problems, you know, [G]like happens.
[C]But he was[G] a sweet kid
who just happened to be grown up,
and he also happened to be African
and American in the deep South,
and they were deeply religious.
[D]And[Bm] one day,[G]
[D]the Lord told [F]him to cast off [G]all worldly things
and go out and spread [D]the word of Jesus.
An[G]d he interpreted that to mean take off
all your clothes
and go downtown and
talk about the Lord.
And so that's what he did.
And he took off running
and his mama was worried about
him.
So she called 9 [C]-1 -1
be[G]cause she
wanted them to bring her boy back.
And they did,
but not before they shot him seven [C]times.
And he [G]was unarmed, he was unclothed,
but in our society,
the way we've for some reason gone [F]wrong
to believe [G]the other is
the enemy
and they're out to [Em]get you.
And I don't care [C]who you are.
[G]That's what our society keeps preaching,
[Em]you know, and [G]that's why it's dangerous when the person who calls himself the leader of the free [D]world
is spreading [Am]such fuck[G]ing bullshit
[F]on a national level,
[G]on an international level,
and tweeting at three in the morning
and telling cops that
they shouldn't be soft on people
as they're putting their
heads into the police [Em]car.
they [G]should maybe bash their heads
against the side of the car.
Think about that.
That's the message we're sending out
to our [Ebm]young people.
[C]And [G]it fucking makes me sick.
And like I said, I wasn't trying to
get all political.
It was personal.
It was fucking personal.
That was my [G]neighbor.
And I knew his mama,
and she was so sweet.
[G]And I used to see him.
They would always wave
when we'd come and go.
[G]And, [C]you know,
it's this fear of the other
that's got to stop
before we can
progress as a country
and become
the people we're supposed to be.