Decemberists - The Mariners Revenge Song

( intro : )
Am

Am
we are two mariners , our ships’ sole survivors
E
in this belly of a whale

its ribs our ceiling beams , its guts our carpeting
Am
i guess we have some time to kill

you may not remember me , i was a child of three
E
and you a lad of eighteen

but i remember you and i will relate to you
Am
how our histories interweave
F Am
at the time you were a rake and a roustabout
F E F E
spending all your money on the whores and hounds , oh

Am
you had a charming air , all cheap and debonair
E
my widowed mother found so sweet

and so she took you in , her sheets still warm with him
Am
now filled with filth and foul disease
F Am
as time wore on you proved a dead – ridden drunken mess
F E F E
leaving my mother a poor consumptive wretch , oh

Am
and then you dissapeared , your gambling arrears
E
the only thing you left behind

and then the magistrate reclaimed our small estate
Am
and my poor mother lost her mind
F Am
then one day in spring my dear sweet mother died
F E F E
but before she did i took her hand as she dying cried , oh

Dm
“find him , bind him

tie him to a pole and break his
Am
fingers to splinters

throw him to a hole until he
Dm
wakes up naked
E F E
clawing at the ceiling of his grave”

Am G Am G Am G Am

Am
it took me fifteen years to swallow all my tears
E
among the urchins in the street

until a priory took pity and hired me
Am
to keep their vestry nice and neat
F Am
but never once in the employ of these holy men
F E F E
did i ever once stir my mind from the thought of revenge , oh

Am
one night i overheard the prior exhanging words
E
with a penitent whaler from the sea

the captain of his ship who matched you toe to tip
Am
was known for wanton cruelty
F Am
the following day i shipped to sea with a privateer
F E F E
and in the whistle of the wind i could almost hear , oh

Dm
“find him , bind him

tie him to a pole and break his
Am
fingers to splinters

throw him to a hole until he
Dm
wakes up naked
E F E
clawing at the ceiling of his grave

C G
there is one thing i must say to you
C G
as you sail across the sea
Am Em
always your mother will watch over you
F E
as you avenge this wicked deed”

( interlude : )
Dm Am Dm E
Dm Am Dm E
Dm Am Dm E
Dm Am Dm E

Am
and then that fateful night we had you in our sight
E
after twenty months at sea

your starboard flank a beam , i was getting my muskets clean
Am
when came this rumbling from beneath
F Am
the ocean stirred the sky went black and the captain quailed
F E F E
and before us grew the angry jaws of a giant whale , oh

Am
don’t know how i survived , the crew all was chewed alive
E
i must have slipped between his teeth

but oh what providence , what divine intelligence
Am
that you should survive as well as me
F Am
it gives my heart great joy to see your eyes fill with fear
F E F E
so lean in close and i will whisper the last words you’ll hear , oh

( outro : )
Dm Am Dm E F E
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Dm Am Dm E F E ( accelerate )