Mid-century modern (2021)    (video)

 

    F - Em - C   - F - Em  - C     - Dm - Em - Am   - Dm - G  

 

+  C - F   - C - F   - C - F   - C - F

 

                 C      F          C                          F                          C

1. Have mercy on us, Father, who live through this age of storms !

             C        F           C

    We barely have the time to bind the

       D7                                 G

    wounds caused by our shattered norms.

               F                  C                    F            Dm

    The credulous are on crusade against reality,

               C            F       D         G                    Am       G   C

    and freedom's just another word for acting with impunity.

 

           C           F            C                   F                          C

2. It's hard to get your bearings in a world that doesn't care,

          C       F        C                    D7               G

    positions I took long ago feel comfy as an old armchair.

                  F                          C                              F                     Dm

    But the kids that pull the statues down, they challenge me to see

            C            F            D     G                 Am      G        C

    the gap between the man I am and the man I want to be.

 

+  F - Em - C   - F - Em  - C     - Dm - Em - Am   - Dm - G  

 

+  C - F   - C - F   - C - F   - C - F

 

              C       F      C                      F                    C

3. That old familiar argument blew up again last night,

             C              F        C                        D7                 - G

    the one where one of us is wrong but both of us feel       in the right.

          F                   C                        F                    Dm

    My indignation drove me to say things that I regret,

        C          F       D             G                      Am            G             C

    I hurt the one I love the most with my self-righteous temperament.

 

             C         F            C                                F                                C

4. Now I must face the consequence of the thoughtlessness I've shown,

          C        F     C                D7                      - G

    it wasn't my intention to spend this evening       all alone.

              F                        C                  F                     Dm

    But wounded pride is all I have to keep me company

                 C          F             D     G                  Am    G        C

    in the gap between the man I am and the man I want to be.

 

+  F - Em - C   - F - Em  - C     - Dm - Em - Am   - Dm - G  

 

+  C - F   - C - F   - C - F   - C - F

 

+  instrumental = verse 4

 

           C             F      C                    F                   C

5. I'm used to people listening to what I have to say,

              C         F          C                         D7            - G

    and I find it hard to think that it might help if I just        stepped away.

                 F                    C                   F         Dm

    And adjusted my perceptions to reflect reality,

                   C            F            D     G                 Am      G        C

    and the gap between the man I am and the man I want to be.

              C          F              D     G                 Am     G             - C

    The gap between the man I am and the man I want to be.

 

 

    (Billy Bragg)