The Fade Away
View chords used in this chart
Capo 1
C
We've been on a bunch of dates
G
I weigh debates that this creates
F G
And hate that state of forced introspection
C
We traded wit, we swapped some spit,
G
You fingered me a little bit
F G
But we never really had a connection
F C F C
You did nothing wrong, I have no excuse
F C G
Just my intuition telling me we shouldn't reproduce
C
I know I have to end it
G
But pretend to just suspend it
F G
By contending that I'm busy all week
C
I let the foregone linger on
G
Text back with an emoticon
F G
Withdraw from you by being oblique
F C F C
Inside I know my tactics just delay it
F C G
But I'd do anything so I don't have to say it
F G
I'll draw this out forever like it's Vietnam
F G
Then one day I'll be gone like Bambi's mom Awww
F C
Cause there's the right thing to do
F C
Then there's what I'm gonna do
F C
There's so much I should say
G Am
But instead... I do the fade away
G C
Now I'm fading like chalk on a sidewalk
G C
Or the polio virus after Jonas Salk
G C
Like a Jewish guy at Arby's on Yom Kippur
Am
The Whig party post Millard Fillmore
G C
The erection of a man on antidepressants
G C
The cast of Diff'rent Strokes after adolescence
G C
Reproductive rights below the Mason Dixon
Am
Native Americans after the barter systems
Dm G
Your thyroid gland after Hashimoto
Dm D
The family in the Back to the Future photo
Am
Yeah I fade away
C G
We say that men are asshole who don't communicate
F G
We revel in our victimhood and amplify our hate
C G
We find ways to be indignant like it's a sport
F G
Then dissect their malignance with the views we distort
F C F C
The way men break up may be sloppy and terse
F C G
What they do is bad, but what we do is worse
C G
We pretend to ourselves it's the nice thing to do
F G
To let you down gently by just not fucking telling you
C G
And deep down we know it's the worst way to play it
F G
But we are what we have... huge pussies
G C
And women are hypocrites
G C
Especially ones in comedy bands
G C
We see your faults but not our own
Am
Then we wonder why we're all alone
F C F C
We fill you up with maybe's, excuses and stalls
F G
But like a baby in China... it's better to have balls
F G
Not the Good Wife type like Christine Baranski
F G
So I'll pull out and leave like I'm Roman Polanski
F C
Cause there's the right thing to do
F C
Then there's what I'm gonna do
F C
There's so much I should say
G Am
But instead... I do the fade away
G C
Like Verbal Kint fading into Kaiser Soze
G C
The rights in Arizona for a guy named Jose
G C
Opportunities for a college grad
Am
The love between your mom and dad
G C
Gonna Peter out like a gay Cetera
G C
Iranian relations since the Regan era
G C
Black Nike sales after Heaven's Gate
Am
Summer Camp attendance at Penn State
Dm G
The name Adolph after World War Two
Dm D
Like Debbie Gibson's pop career, Out of the Blue
Am
Yeah I fade away
G C
Cause I don't wanna get to know you
G C
I just want to blow you... off
How to play The Fade Away
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is C. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.