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Democracy
Leonard Cohen
Text File
Democracy by Leonard Cohen
D G A
It's coming through a hole in the air,
D A D
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
G
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
D
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
F#
From the wars against disorder,
Bm
from the sirens night and day,
F#
from the fires of the homeless,
Bm
from the ashes of the gay:
A G D
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
D G A
It's coming through a crack in the wall;
D A D
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
G
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
D
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
F#
It's coming from the silence
Bm
on the dock of the bay,
F#
from the brave, the bold, the battered
Bm
heart of Chevrolet:
A G D
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
D G A
It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
D A D
the holy places where the races meet;
G
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
D
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
F#
From the wells of disappointment
Bm
where the women kneel to pray
F#
for the grace of God in the desert here
Bm
and the desert far away:
A G D
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
A G
Sail on, sail on
D
O mighty Ship of State!
A
To the Shores of Need
G
Past the Reefs of Greed
D
Through the Squalls of Hate
A G D
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.
D G A
It's coming to America first,
D A D
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
G
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
D
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
F#
It's here the family's broken
Bm
and it's here the lonely say
F#
that the heart has got to open
Bm
in a fundamental way:
A G D
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
D G A
It's coming from the women and the men.
D A D
O baby, we'll be making love again.
G
We'll be going down so deep
the river's going to weep,
D
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
F#
It's coming like the tidal flood
Bm
beneath the lunar sway,
F#
imperial, mysterious,
Bm
in amorous array:
A G D
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
A G
Sail on, sail on ...
D G A
I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
D A D
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
G
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
D
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
F#
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
Bm
that Time cannot decay,
F#
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
Bm
this little wild bouquet:
A G D
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A