You Know Its Dark When Atheists Start To Pray

Am
Joey was a man from the other side
G
Came across the sea for a better life
F                                          E
When he got close they made him change his name

Am
Push along a cart through the market place
G
Keep it in your heart when you're getting spades
F                          E
But that was so many years ago


[Pre-Chorus]

C                       F
I lived in many places, I've fallen out of graces
C                               G
I tried to feed the fire for so long


[Chorus]

C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C              G             C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way


[Verse]

Am
A Nietzsche mustache and a peasant's hat
G
Five hungry kids in a water flat
F                             E
Maybe I'll make a little more today

Am
A new world dream and some old school pride
G
He couldn't make a meet so he took his life
C                                          E
I saw a photograph and made memories in my mind


[Pre-Chorus]

C                          F
I've fallen out of graces, I've ran so many races
C                                  G
I tried to breathe the fire for so long


[Chorus]

C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C              G             C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

C F C G C F C G


[Verse]

C
Well he was on the blacklist in '53
F
And he talked about the conspiracy
Am                                        G
He said the next war is gonna blow us all away

C
I played in churches and I prayed in bars
F
A young kid with a sad guitar
Am                           G
To get close I had to go far away

C
Well I became a drifter
F
Sent postcards to my sister
Am                                         G
And I can hear her smile even when I'm far away


[Chorus]

C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C              G             C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way


[Verse]

C
Well I drank with kings and danced with whores
F
On mountain tops and distant shores
Am                                            G
But you made me feel like someone I wished to be

C
I tried to wear my father's clothes
F
I planted seeds that didn't grow
Am                                            G
With a handful of thorns I thought that I was free

C
Worked in a bank, drove a diesel van
F
Even Sonny Wortzik had a plan
Am                          G
Do your time and get out of society


[Chorus]

C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C              G             C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way


[Verse]

C
Now you're sitting in an office, you've never seen the world
F
Gonna blame it on the government or a girl
Am                                               G
But there's somewhere else you know you'd rather be

C
Scratching off the numbers in a liquor store
F
Dreaming of picking up a '44
Am                      G
Tell me more about your fantasy


[Chorus]

C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C              G             C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

C F C G C F C G


[Verse]

C
From Spanish Harlem to Ditmas Park
F
A lonely game of court and spark
Am                                      G
I wrote a song, I figured it's the only way

C
And the girls from school all married stiffs
F
With a flat screen and couple kids
Am                                        G
And they say a prayer in their own little way

C
Well a friend of mine became a priest
F
And we lost another in the Middle East
Am                                              G
Well, you know it's dark when atheists start to pray


[Chorus]

C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C              G             C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way


[Verse]

C
Boxes in the corner neatly stacked
F
Parts of me, paper and wax
Am                                 G
For a headline day to ride in that Cadillac

C
And when it's over and I've had my fill
F
They're gonna put my body up on Cypress Hill
Am                                      G
Near Houdini for the final disappearing act


[Chorus]

C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C              G             C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way

C
Hey man, whatcha doing
F
All along the road to ruin
C                       G                 G
You know it's dark when Atheists start to pray


[Verse]

F            C            G
From the fox holes to the quarter
C        F    C
Got your mojo workin'
G               C         F          C
Or whatever you believe in, all your voodoo
G                    C            F          C
Well, the river runs deep and the river runs wide


[Outro]

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