Thirty Summers

A  D  A  E  A  D  A  E  A

A                     D
Caught in the vice of heaven and earth
 A                        E
He turned his life into a cell
A                             D
Imprisoned by the doubts that hound us all
          A          E           A
And the desires that we all know so well
    F#m          A             D                   A
His days lost to promises, his nights he purged of dreams
         A                        E
And he'd wake in the hours before sunrise
              D      E      A
And dread the coming of the day

A                           D
Never thought a man could become so desperate
A                               E
Never thought a life could lose so much hope
      A                    D
To be tearing at the roots around you
         A            E         A
As if in manacles, or irons, or ropes
     F#m             A             D                 A
They say he told his children that all he taught was lost
     A                  E
That love and pride and honesty
     D         E          A
Were gained at too high a cost

          A                        D
It's been thirty summers that I've spent with him
      A                     E
And I expect thirty more to pass
       A                     D
He has blessed my life in so many ways
             A     E       A
That I could never turn my back
    F#m                    A
But I need just one more reminder
       D                   A
Of the man that he used to be
            A                E
If he would just look deep into my eyes
             D              E                    A
And say it's in you my love that I will find the key.