Ticking Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Intro 1]
[D][A][G][D][A][D][G][D]
[A][G][D][A][G]

[Verse 1]
[D]"An extremely quiet
[G]child" they called you in your school [D]report[G]
[D]"He's always taken [C]interest in
the [G]subjects that he's [D]taught"
So [F#m]what was it that brought the squad
car screaming up [Em]your drive
To [A]notify your parents of the manner
[G]in which you[D] died[G]

[Verse 2]
At St. [D]Patrick's every Sunday,
[G]Father Fletcher heard you[D]r sins[G]
"Oh, he's [D]un concerned with competition
[C]he never [G]cares to [D]win"
But [F#m]blood stained a young hand
that never held [Em]a gun
And his [A]parents never thought of him
as [G]their [Bm]troub[G]led son
[D]

[Verse 3]
"Now you'll [Bm]never get to
Heaven" [Em]Mama said
Re[A]member Mama said
Tick[D]ing, tick[F#]ing
"Grow [Bm]up straight and true blue
Run [Em]along to bed"
[A]Hear it, [D]hear [F#m]it, ti[Em]cking,
[D]ticking
[A][G][D]

[Verse 4]
[A][G]
They had [D]you holed up in a down[G]town
bar screaming for a [D]priest[G]
[Bm]Some gook [D]said "His brain's just snapped"
[C]then som[G]eone called the pol[D]ice
You'd knifed [F#m]a Negro waiter
who had tried [D]to [F#m]calm y[Em]ou down
Oh you'd [A]pulled a gun and told them all
[G]to lay [Bm]still on [G]the ground
[D]

[Verse 5]
[G]
[Bm]Prom[D]ising to hurt no one,
[G]providing they were sti[D]ll[G][Bm]
[G]A young m[D]an tried to make a break,
[C]with tear-filled eye[G]s eyes you[D] killed
That [F#m]gun butt felt so smooth
and warm cradled in your [Em]palm
Oh your child[A]hood cried out in your head
[G]"they mean to do you harm"
[D]

[Verse 6]
[Bm]"Don't ever ride on the
devil's knee" [Em]Mama said
Re[A]member mama said
Tick[D]ing, tick[F#]ing
"Pay [Bm]your penance well, my child
Fear [Em]where angels tread"
[A]Hear it, [F#m]hear i[Em]t, ticking,
[D]ticking
[A][G][D]

[Verse 7]
[A][G]
With[D]in an hour the news had reached
[G]the media machi[D]ne[G]
[D]A male Caucasian with [C]a gun
had [G]gone berserk [D]in Queens
The [F#m]area had been sealed off,
the kids sent home from [Em]school
[A]Fourteen people lying dead [G]in a bar they
[Bm]called the [G]Kicking Mule
[D]

[Verse 8]
[G]
Oh they [D]pleaded to your [G]sanity for the
sake of those in[D]side[G]
[D]"Throw out your gun,
walk out [G]slow just keep your hands [D]held high"
But they [F#m]pumped you full of rifle shells
as you stepped out [Em]the door
Oh you [A]danced in death like a marionette
[G]on the vengeance of the law
[D]

[Verse 9]
[A]"Yo[Bm]u've slept too long
in silence" [Em]Mama said
Re[A]member Mama said
[D]Ticking, [F#]ticking
[Bm]"Crazy boy, you'll only wind up
with strange [Em]notions in your head"
[A]Hear it, hear [Em]it, ticking,
[D]ticking

[Outro 1]
[D][G][D][G][D]
[A][G][D][G]