I Was An Oak Tree

Intro F C G Am G F C G Am G F C G Am G F G [Verso 1] F I was an oak tree. C G F I took a thousand years to grow, C G and I've seen kingdoms come and go. F C G Am G I've seen the losers turn to lords and back again. F C G Am G I held the rebels when they hung them from my limbs. F C G When men of fortune cast their futures on the sea, Am G F G that's when they came for me. [Verso 2] F And I was a slave ship, C G F under the standard of the cross, C G a hallelujah holocaust. F C G Am G And half were dead before we reached the other shore, F C G Am G and the captain never saw the coming storm F C G that swept around the cape and took us by surprise, Am G F G and only eight survived. [Verso 3] F C G F I was a camp fire, a pile of driftwood in the sand. C G The only comfort in this land. F C G Am G 8 hungry sailors roasted acorns that they found, F C G Am G and left me burning as they stumbled towards the sound F C G of a church bell ringing out above the ocean's wind, Am G F G and I was born again. F C G F And I am an oak tree, out along the wild cape fear, C G and there is talk of freedom here. F C G Am G Where is the kingdom that was here before I came, F C G Am G where have the people gone who only left their names. F C G A revolution's just a circle after all, Am G F G and every kingdom falls. F C G F I am an oak tree, if it takes a thousand years to grow, C G F I'll see kingdoms come and go, C G I'll see kingdoms come and go. Outro F C G Am G F C G Am G F C G Am G F G