John Prine – Thats How Every Empire Falls (Guitar)

F                      C
He caught a train from Alexandria

Bb                   F
Just a broken man in flight

F                           C
Running scared with all his devils

Bb                             F
Saying prayers all through the night

F                    C
But mercy can't find him

Bb                          F
Not in the shadows where he calls

F                        C
Forsaking all his better angels

Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

F                            C
The bells ring out on Sunday morning

Bb                       F
Like echoes from another time

F                     C
All our innocence and yearning

Bb                       F
And sense of wonder left behind

F                 C
Oh, gentle hearts remember

Bb                           F
What was that story his they lost

F                   C
When religion loses vision

Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

F                              C
He toasts his wife and all his family

Bb                           F
The providence he brought to bear

F                               C
They raise their glasses in his honor

Bb                           F
Although this union made 'em share

F                         C
Of a man that lives among them

Bb                           F
But still a stranger to them all

F                         C
For when a heart is never open

Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

F                           C
Lock the door and board the windows

Bb                    F
Put the people in the street

F                          C
It just my job he says I'm sorry

Bb                            F
And draws the jackels home to eat

F                        C
But at night he tell his woman

Bb                       F
I know I hide behind the laws

F                            C
She says you are only taking orders

Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

F                               C
A bitter wind blows through the country

Bb                       F
A hard rain falls on the sea

F                         C
If terror comes without a warning

Bb                               F
There must be something we don't see

F                      C
Well, fire begets this fire

Bb                           F
Like torches thrown into the straw

F                        C
If no one ask and no one answers

Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls