Tom: Dm
A B
E|--------1--|
B|---1-------|
G|-----------|
D|-----------|
A|---2----2--|
E|---3----3--|
this will be played at the beginning of every stanza
E|--------|
B|--------|
G|--------|
D|--------|
A|----2---|
E|--3-----|
C A F C
i'll consider you my priest, i'll confess to you my sins
Am E F C
sorry father, i'm not sure where i should begin
Am E F C
i've begged and cheated, drank, and beaten devils deep within
Am Dm B
but i suppose we oughta start with who is dead
C A F C
there's a young man in the wall, but i've covered up the hole
Am E F C
he looks a lot like me, but he's never growing old
Am E F C
i tucked him there when i awoke, you're the first i've ever told
Am Dm B
well i saved that lousy kid from getting killed
C A F C
see, a painter's never worth a dime before he's underground
Am E F C
and this kid was the best on every side of town
Am E F C
honest, to the point, with his own special sound
Am Dm B
well the demons, they were coming for him
C A F C
well he painted what he saw in his brain late at night
Am E F C
staring out the window to the moths in yellow light
Am E F C
he painted what the girls said in their sorry tattered tights
Am Dm B
yes he painted till his hands surely bled
C A F C
he drew out every government in a single crooked stroke
Am E F C
when he stepped back to look at it, his paintbrushes all broke
Am E F C
they quieted his realizations, lit em up in smoke
Am Dm B
they're nothing but ordinary kids
C A F C
he illustrated love by a skeleton pair
Am E F C
two little lovers locked in love's eternal stare
Am E F C
with rings on their fingers, but their body's dead and bare
Am Dm B
"till death do we part", not a chance
C A F C
his final work of art was when he sat and painted life
Am E F C
as complex as anything, as simple as contrite
Am E F C
written on a canvas were two words: hello, goodbye
Am Dm B
is there really any more to this whole deal?
C A F C
by then the demons came they were knocking at his door
Am E F C
i've memorized their names, it was Drugs, Sex, and War
Am E F C
i opened up the walls and sealed them in forevermore
Am Dm B
then i shook their hands and led them to my room!
C A F C
so thank you now for listening, hail mary full grace
Am E F C
i tucked him far away, and i stand here in his place
Am E F C
i'll sing you songs, but more importantly, show you what he paints
Am Dm B
yes he's painted every one of you today
Am E F C
thank you now, i'll go in peace to love and serve the lord
Am E F C
just remember all i've said after this final chord
Am E F C
no one in this whole damn world, no one can afford
Am Dm Am
the pricelessness of ignorance and youth
Am F C
oh, the pricelessness of ignorance and youth
