WWW.AZCHORDS.COM | John Prine - Thats How Every Empire Falls Chords | Ver. 1
[Intro]
A G D
A G D
[Verse 1]
D A G D
He caught a train from Alexandria, just a broken man in flight
D A G D
Runnin' scared with his devils, sayin' prayers all through the night
D A G D
But mercy can't find him, not in the shadows where he calls
D A G D
Forsaking all his better angels: That's how every empire falls
A G D
A G D
[Verse 2]
D A G D
The bells ring out on Sunday morning like echoes from another time
D A G D
All our innocence and yearning and sense of wonder left behind
D A G D
Oh gentle hearts remember, What was that story? Is it lost?
D A G D
For when religion loses vision, That's how every empire falls
A G D
A G D
[Verse 3]
D A G D
He toasts his wife and all his family, the providence he brought to bear
D A G D
They raise their glasses in his honor although this union they don't share
D A G D
A man who lives among them was still a stranger to them all
D A G D
For when the heart is never open, That's how every empire falls
A G D
A G D
A G D
A G D
[Verse 4]
D A G D
Padlock the door and board the windows, put the people in the street
D A G D
"It's just my job," he says, "I'm sorry," and draws a check, goes home to eat
D A G D
At night he tells his woman, "I know I hide behind the laws"
D A G D
She says, "You're only taking orders": That's how every empire falls
A G D
A G D
[Verse 5]
D A G D
A bitter wind blows through the country, a hard rain falls on the sea
D A G D
If terror comes without a warning, there must be something we don't see
D A G D
What fire begets this fire, like torches thrown into the straw?
D A G D
If no one asks, then no one answers: That's how every empire falls