This strange engine
View chords used in this chart
Dm F Dm F
There was a boy who came into this world at the hands of a holy woman in a holy place
Dm F Dm F
He wore a red coat and walked a bulldog, saw them reflected in the mirror of the lakes
Dm F
Lived in the shadow of the mountains with the smells of disinfectant
Dm F
Dusty old leather and the polished wood of his bed
Dm F
No more than a baby feeding swans on the river, holding the hands of his mother
C G F C G
And the wax paper bag of yesterday's bread
F C G F
And his father on the other side of the world on the ship's railings and some far away tide
C G F C
With the silent dry tear of home thoughts from abroad in his far away eyes
G F (NC) F Cm Eb Bb
In his far away eyes
F Cm Eb Bb
The smell of the wax on the wooden floor, mixture of polish and soap
F Cm Eb Bb
No children to fear or to play with, rows of empty hooks for the coats
F Cm Eb Bb
An upright piano and the boys in the choir still remind him of just before he was born
F Cm Eb Bb
Remind him of just before he was breathing, strange misty visions of God
F Cm Eb Bb
Turn the cities into families, into villages of souls
F Cm Eb Bb
Hovering in the air while they're sleeping, with their houses invisible
F Cm Eb (NC)
Send to me the ghosts of Christmas, whispering, "You're the only one"
Ocultar tablatura
Measure 1:
e-|-----------------------------|
B-|-----------------------------|
G-|-----------------------------|
D-|-1-3-------1-3-------1-0-----|
A-|-------------------------3-1-|
E-|-----1-1-1-----1-1-1---------|
1 1 1
And ever since I was a boy, I never felt that I belonged
1 1
Like everything they did to me was an experiment to see
1 1
How I would cope with the illusion, in which direction would I jump
1 1
Would I do it all the same as the actors in the game
Bb F
Or would I spit it back at them and not get caught up in their rules
Bb F
And live according to my own and not be used, not be used
Eb Bb
To find the fundamental truths, it was gonna take some time
Ab F#
Thirty-five summers down the line, the wisdom of each passing year
Ab F
Seems to serve only to confuse, seems to serve only to confuse
Eb Bb Fm F#maj7 Ab F Eb Bb Ab F#maj7 Ab 1 1 1 1 1 1 Fm Eb Bb Fm F#maj7 Ab
(NC) F#maj7 Ab Gm Cm Dm F
Gm Cm Dm F
Daddycame out of the navy and took us away to his dirty grey home town
Gm Cm Dm F
And he worked down a coal mine for National Service so that he could be around
Gm Cm Dm F Gm Cm Dm F
There was a magical purple in the chrome of the exhaust of his Triumph motor bike
Gm Cm Dm F Gm Cm Dm
And a warmth of oil and metal and the thrill of the hard corner holding tight
Gm Cm Dm F
From the horizon came home from the Navy to the mine
Gm Cm Dm F
From the horizon to buried alive
Gm Cm Dm
Took his dream underground
F Gm Cm Dm F
Buried his treasure in his faraway eyes
Dm C F G Dm C F G
And one day as the boy lay sleeping in the sunshine of a half-remembered afternoon
Dm C F G
A cloud of bees with no particular aim and no brain found the boy
Dm C F G
Decided that his time had come
Dm C F G Dm
Came down out of the sky, stung him in the face again and again
C F G
Blue pain, screaming like baptism, intravenous, Jesus
Dm C F G
Like being chosen from something with no brain, blue pain
Dm C F G Dm C F G Dm C F G Dm C F G Dm C F G
It's happening again, it's happening again
Am Dm Em G Am Dm Em G Am Dm Em G Dm Am G F Am F Am Em C D Em C D
Em C D
Oh, Mummy, Daddy, will you sit a while with me?
Em C D
Oh, Mummy, Daddy, will you jog my memory?
Em C D
Tell me tall tales of Montego Bay, Table Mountain, flying fish
Em C D Em C D
Banana spiders, pots of paint and the sun on the Equator
Em C D
Setting like an ember thrown to deep water
Em C D
From crimson to black
Em C D
But coming back tomorrow
Em D Em D Em D Cmaj7 D Em D Em D Em D Cmaj7 D
On the horizon
Em D Em D Em D Cmaj7 D Em D Em D Em D Cmaj7 D
Em C D Em C D
The blue pain fades to a point where it doesn't fade
Em C D Em C D
It stayed blue
Em C D Em C D
And stirred his red coat heart to this strange engine
Em C D E A G D
This love, this love, this love
E A G D
This inconvenient, blind blood-diamond, this puzzle
E A G D E
This love, this blind blood-diamond, this puzzle, I don't understand
A G D E A G
That knows no faith and tries and fails and tries again
D E A G D E
Stares at the sea, the night's dark deep for one last time
A G D E
And bleeds and bleeds and dies for you
A G D E A
And lies and is to blame and is ashamed
G D E
And is not the same and is true
A G D E A G D E
Is true, is true, is true, is true, is true, is true, is true, is true
How to play This strange engine
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 Dm. 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.