They Might Be Giants

By The Time You Get This

They Might Be Giants


Tom: F#m

       A        E        D
By the time you get this note
         Bm     E   A
We'll no longer be alive
           A        E     D
We'll have all gone up in smoke
            Bm     E    A
There'll be no way to reply
          F    G     D        E          A        C    D
You'll be wondering about the world that vanished long ago
        F#m        E         D
And the words that reach you now
          D      E    A
That were buried underground


[Verse]
A   E        D           Bm       E      A
Greetings to everyone in Nineteen Thirty-Seven
         A    E        D      Bm        E       A
It seems that you were never aware that we were here
       F    G       D    E  A       C      D
You're probably too busy re-joicing in the present
        F#m   E    D             D        E        A
To stop - and be reminded of the dark and troubled past


[Chorus]
       A        E        D
By the time you get this note
         Bm     E   A
We'll no longer be alive
        A          E       D
But our skulls are smiling still
       Bm         E         A
At the thought of things to come
       F    G      D         E        A     C      D
We can confidently know that you'll enjoy a better world
         F#m   E       D
When the evils that we faced
        D       E       A
Will at last be laid to rest


[Bridge]
         F#m            Bm
When the poisons of the Earth
       C#            F#m
Are completely neutralized
         F#m            Bm
When the hatred and the lies
       C#       F#m
Are forever put aside
         D      E     B        C#    F#m     A    B
When the voices of dissent and contradiction all abate
        D        F#m    Bm
And the peaceful air is filled
       Bm     C#   F#m
With a silent harmony


[Verse]
A  E        D              Bm     E       A
We can't be certain at the moment of this writing
    A      E      D                  Bm E       A
But surely in the future there'll be no barking dogs
    F        G      D      E       A       C     D
The sound of crying babies will be thankfully forgotten
F#m     E        D          D       E      A
No more will the chattering classes make a noise


[Chorus]
       A        E        D
By the time you get this note
     Bm  E       A
A millenium from now
           A        E     D
We'll have all gone up in smoke
            Bm     E  A
There'll be no way to reply
       A    E      D
And we confidently know
         Bm    E      A
You'll enjoy a better time
         A     E       D
When the evils that we faced
        Bm      E       A
Will at last be laid to rest