17 And 53

Chords

Standard

intro: Am G D

Am         G    D
  You were seventeen the year your father died

Am           G     D
  And he was fifty-three when you were seventeen

Am       G      D
  In the museum where you laid your head to sleep

Am        G                  D
  The artifacts were cold to comfort you


Am        G                  D
When you heard them fighting you hid in the apple tree

Am        G                  D
The branches broke their noise

Am        G                  D
And when your brother studied at the university

Am        G                  D
You were left alone to realize


Dm
That while you were growing older

Em
He was busy growing older 

Am           G                   D
too, bah dah dum, da dah dah dah dum

Am           G                   D
too, bah dah dum, da dah dah dah dum


Am        G                  D
In the summer when your father drove you to the river

Am        G                  D
And he would sing so loud

Am        G                  D
Soon to be kept silent when you climbed through barbed-wired fences

Am        G                  D
To get to the riverside


Dm
And while you were growing older

Em
He was busy growing older 

Am           G                   D
too, bah dah dum, da dah dah dah dum

Am           G                   D
too, bah dah dum, da dah dah dah dum


Am        G                  D
And in February you were running late one day

Am        G                  D
And out the door you ran

Am        G                  D
Leaving left unsaid the things you?d soon regret not telling

Am        G                  D
Never knowing this would be your last chance


Dm
And while you were growing older

Em
He was busy growing older 



Am            Dm      G  Dm        G
   And was it fair to    blame the gi-  

Am             Dm      G  Dm       G
rl, And was it fair to    make the child

Am                   Dm         G      Dm   G
choose, And when you stood next to the moun-ta-

Am           Dm                   G        Dm      G
in,  Did you swear that you could hear him calling you?

Am            G                   D
      bah dah dum, da dah dah dah dum

Am            G                   D
      bah dah dum, da dah dah dah dum


Am        G                  D
I am twenty-two and you are fifty-three

Am        G                  D
And only blood can tell

Am        G                  D
That we are made up of strings and strands of DNA

Am        G                  D
Dancing waltzes in our cells


Dm
and while you are growing older

Em
i am busy growing older 

Am           G                   D
too, bah dah dum, da dah dah dah dum

Am           G                   D
too, bah dah dum, da dah dah dah dum