The Mountain Goats

Birth Of Serpents

The Mountain Goats


Tom: Bm

D   Dmaj9  D  Dmaj9 G   
let the    camera   pull back
G                       Asus4                   D Dmaj9 D Dmaj9
til the fullness of the frame is clear and plain
D  Dmaj9 D    Dmaj9     G
peer into the screen until you see it all
Asus4                          D Dmaj9 D Dmaj9
like a vision in a crystal ball

E                    A
let it all fill with smoke
D                            G
is this somebody's idea of a joke?

D   Dmaj9 D  Dmaj9    G 
let the fixer work until the silver's washed away
Asus4                            D Dmaj9 D Dmaj9
and take the picture from the tray
D    Dmaj9   D        Dmaj9    
look hard at what you see
    G      Asus4
and then remember you and me
D Dmaj9          D               Dmaj9
     and let the truth spring free

E                  A
like a jack in the box
D                       G
like a hundred thousand cuckoo clocks

G               A
from the oregon corners
D           G
to the iowa corn 
G                          A               D   Dsus9 D Dsus9
to the rooms with the heat lamps where the snakes get born

D     Dmaj9   D  Dmaj9      G 
crawl through the tunnel and follow, 
Asus4                            D Dmaj9 D Dmaj9
follow the light northwest
D    Dmaj9   D   Dmaj9       G      Asus4   
see that young man who dwells inside his body 
                    D Dmaj9  D   Dmaj9
like an uninvited guest

F#             Bm
see the tunnel twist
E                              A
clutch your birthright in your fist

(same as other verses)
D Dmaj9   D  Dmaj9      G 
let the camera do its dirty work 
Asus4                D Dmaj9 D Dmaj9
down there in the dark
D    Dmaj9   D   Dmaj9       G                             
sink low, rise high, and bring back some blurry pictures 
Asus4                                D Dmaj9  D   Dmaj9
to remember all your darker moments by

E                        A
permanent bruises on our knees
         D                                G
never forget what it felt like to live in rooms like these

G                        A
from the california coastline
D           G
to the iowa corn
G                          A               D   Dsus9 D Dsus9
to the rooms with the heat lamps where the snakes get born

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