The Decemberists – Ben Franklins Song (Guitar)

    G
Electricity, yeah you can all thank me

            C                                 Am
Took some lightning, a kite, and a fat brass key

            Bm                             C                          
And they’re putting up street lights in gay Paris

       Am            D         G      C  
You’re welcome from our young nation

         G
I’m the only American the French wanna see

      C                             Am
They call me a genius, I can’t disagree

          Bm                                    C                
They have guns, they have funds, they can set us free

  Am       D      G      
Invest in my reputation

           Am
And do you know who the fuck I am?

            C
Yeah do you know who the fuck I am?

       Am
Do you know who the fuck I am?

     C                                                     G    C
I am Poor-Richard's-Almanack-writing Benjamin fucking Franklin

       G
I said early to bed, bitches, early to rise

      C                               Am
They make a man healthy, wealthy and wise

    Bm                                             C
And soldiers are fighting for freedom, they have no supplies

     Am       D           G
So diplomacy happens at night

     G
John Adams debates at the gates of Versailles

         C                                Am
Ay, he whines and berates and awaits a reply

   Bm                                         C
As I stay up late with a succulent breast or a thigh

           Am       D           G
Alright, diplomacy happens at night

           Am
And do you know who the fuck I am?

            C
Yeah do you know who the fuck I am?

       Am
Do you know who the fuck I am?

     C                                                     G    
I am seventy-six-and-I’ll-still-kick-your-ass fucking Franklin

Em                                     C
One pain that lingers, the hitch in my stride

      Em                                C
Is my son back at home who I could not guide

    Bm                                      C
Who sits alone in a prison cell on the wrong side

Am              D          G     C
Stands against our young nation

     G
So I play my ambassador part with pride

      C                                    Am
I am known in the world, and the world is wide

      Bm                                        C
To my children, my sins may be magnified, but I'd

      Am         D      G
Do it all again, no hesitation

           Am
And do you know who the fuck I am?

            C
Yeah do you know who the fuck I am?

       Am
Do you know who the fuck I am?

     C                                                    (Am)
I am Poor-Richard's-Almanack-writing Benjamin fucking Franklin

        Am
(Do you know who the fuck I am?) who the fuck I am?

        C
(Do you know who the fuck I am?) who the fuck I am?

        Am
(Do you know who the fuck I am?)

     C                                Am                        
I am Poor-Richard's-Almanack-writing, polymath, bifocal-wearing

Em                               Bb                    G
Harp and glass harmonica-playing Benjamin fucking Franklin