Faithful Departed

C                       Am
This graveyard hides a million secrets,
C                       Am
And the trees know more than they can tell.
C                               F
The ghosts of the saints and the scholars will haunt you,
G               C
In heaven and in hell.

C                               Am
Rattled by the glimmer man, the boogie man, the holy man,
C                               Am
And livin' in the shadows, in the shadows of a gunman.
C                               F
Rattled like the coppers in your greasy till,
G                       C
Rattled until time stood still.

C                       Am
Look over your shoulder, hear the school bell ring,
C                       Am
Another day of made-to-measure history.
C                       F
I don't care if your heroes have wings,
G                       C
Your terrible beauty has been torn.

[Chorus]
Am      G          F            G
Faithful departed, we fickle hearted,
F       E       C       G
As you are now so once were we.
Am         G        F            G
Faithful departed, we the meek hearted,
F           E            D               G
With graces imparting bring flowers to thee.

Continues after the ad
C                        Am
The girls in the kips proclaim their love for you
C                               Am
When you stumbled in they knew you had a shilling or two.
C                               F
They cursed you on Sundays and holy days of abstinence,
G                       C
When you all stayed away.

C                       Am
When you slept there a naked bulb hid your shame,
C                               Am
Your shadows on the wall, they took all the blame.
C                               F
The Sacred Heart's picture, compassion in his eyes,
G                       C
Drowned out the river of sighs.

C                        Am
Let the grass grow green over the brewery tonight,
C                               Am
It'll never come between the darkness and the light.
C                               F
There is no pain that can't be eased,
G                       C
By the devil's holy water and the rosary beads.

[Chorus]
Am      G          F            G
Faithful departed, we fickle hearted,
F       E       C       G
As you are now so once were we.
Am         G        F            G
Faithful departed, we the meek hearted,
F           E            D               G
With graces imparting bring flowers to thee.

C                       Am
You're a history book I never could write,
C                               Am
Poetry in paralysis, too deep to recite.
C                               F
Dress yourself, bless yourself, you've won the fight,
G                       C
We're gonna celebrate the night.

C                       Am
We'll even climb the pillar like you always meant to,
C                               Am
Watch the sun rise over the strand.
C                               F
Close your eyes and we'll pretend,
G                       C
It could somehow be the same again.
C                       Am
I'll bury you upright so the sun doesn't blind you.
C                               Am
You won't have to gaze at the rain and the stars.
C                               F
Sleep and dream of chapels and bars,
G                   C
And whiskey in the jar.

[Chorus]
Am      G          F                G
Faithful departed, look what you've started;
F             E                C       G
An underdog's wounds aren't so easy to mend.
Am         G               F         G
Faithful departed, there's no broken hearted,
F           E            D                  G
And no more tristesse in your world without end.