The Soul Cages
View chords used in this chart
Intro:
Gm Bb C Gm F C
Gm Bb C Gm F C
Verse
Gm Bb C
The boy child is locked in the fisherman's yard
Gm Bb C
There's a bloodless moon where the oceans die
Gm Bb C
A shoal of night stars hang fire in the nets
Gm Bb C
And the chaos of cages where the crayfish lie
Gm Bb C
Where is the fisherman, where is the goat,
Gm Bb C
Where is the keeper in his carrion coat?
Gm Bb C
Eclipse on the moon when the dark bird flies
Gm Bb C
Where is the child with his father's eyes?
C Bb
Bridge
Gm Bb C F Gm
He's the king of the ninth world
Gm Bb C F Gm
The twisted son of the fog bells' toll
Gm Bb C F Gm
In each and every lobster cage, a tortured human soul
Pre-Chorus
Bb Bbsus2
These are the souls of the broken factories
Bb Bbsus2
The subject slaves of the broken crown
Bb Bbsus2
The dead accounting of old guilty promises
Bb C
These are the souls of the broken town
[Refrão]
Gm Bb C
These are the soul cages
Gm F C
These are the soul cages
Gm Bb C
These are the soul cages
Gm Bb C
These are the soul cages
Am C Bb
Am C Bb
Verse
Am C D G
'I have a wager,' the brave child spoke
Am C D G
The fisherman laughed though disturbed at the joke
Am C D G
'You will drink what I drink But you must equal me,
Am C D
And if the drink leaves me standing, A soul shall go free'
Am C D
'I have here a cask of most magical wine
Am C D
A vintage that blessed every ship in the line
Am C D
It's wrung from the blood of the sailors who died
Am C D
Young white bodies adrift in the tide'
Am C D
'And what's in it for me, my pretty young thing?
Am C D
Why should I whistle when the caged bird sings?
Am C D
If you lose a wager with the king of the sea
Am C D
You'll spend the rest of forever in the cage with me'
[Refrão]
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Bridge
Am C D
A body lies open in the fisherman's yard like
Am C D
The side of a ship where the iceberg rips
Am C D
One less soul in the soul cages
Am G D
One last curse on the fisherman's lips
[Refrão]
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Am C D
These are the soul cages
Outro
Dsus2 A
And he dreamed of a ship on the sea
Dsus2 A
It would carry his father and he
Dsus2 A
To a place they could never be found
Dsus2 A
To a place far away from this town
Dsus2 A
A Newcastle ship with no coals
Dsus2 A
They would sail to the island of souls
B Bsus2
Chorus Outro
F#m A B
These are the soul cages
F#m A B
These are the soul cages
F#m A B
These are the soul cages
F#m A B
These are the soul cages
How to play The Soul Cages
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 Gm. 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.