Impressions

Em

[Verse 1]
     Em
When Prussians came to take the 
house
  D
I could not stop them then
     B7
They filled the rooms with horses
     Em
With sheep as well as men
  Am
I tried for poor old Camille’s sake
    Em
For M'sieur Monet too
    Am
But they were Prussian soldiers
          B7
There was little I could do


[Verse 2]
  Em
Camille had fled to England
        D
M'sieur Monet followed on
     B7
When war came both made certain
          Em
That they never saw a gun
     Am
They left me to look after
        Em
All the things they left behind
    Am
But so much in so small a house
    B7
The troops were sure to find


[Verse 3]
    G
The store room full of paintings
        D
Fifteen years of Camille’s life
Continues after the ad
B7
Pictures of our village
       Em
Of his children and his wife
    G
And when the rain made good earth 
mud
    D
And rivers of the lanes
    C
The soldiers laid them end to end
     B7                        Em
And walked on canvassed frames


[Verse 4]
    Em
The colours and the pigments merged
    D
And M'sieur Monet’s blue
B7
Joined the reds, the greens, the 
browns
   Em
To form another hue
    Am
And poor Camille’s 'Plein Air' 
became
  Em
A blackened, blasted land
   Am
As boots tore holes with muddied 
soles
     B7
Sent from the fatherland


[Verse 5]
     Em
They burned the rest for daily 
warmth
    D
The paint and oil were good
    B7
And gave more heat to blistered feet
     Em
Than shower dampened wood
    C
But when they left I tried to clean
    Em
The pictures that I found
   Am
By Camille and his friend Monet
     B7
Deep trodden in the ground


[Verse 6]
    G
But why I bothered I don’t know
  D
Camille’s a silly fool
B7
No one buys his paintings
            Em
They’re all laughing as a rule
    G
And M'sieur Monet’s eyes can’t see
     D
He’s never finished yet
   C
No details, just impressions
       B7                    Em
Is the best that he can get


[Verse 7]
     Em
When they return and find the truth
   D
Maybe they’ll see the light
    B7
And do an honest job for once
   Em
It never has seemed right
  Am
A life spent painting pictures
       Em
We all wonder why they try
    Am
"See this one here, yes, take it, 
sir"
  B7
A M'sieur Monet sky
     Em           B7 Em
That no one wants to buy