Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part

nick cave and the bad seeds – no more shall we part
compilation of chords from the album

1 . as i sat sadly by her side ( cave )

intro : Am F Am F

Am
as i sat sadly by her side
F
at the window , through the glass
Am
she stroked a kitten in her lap
F
and we watched the world as it fell past
Am
softly she spoke these words to me
F
and with brand new eyes , open wide
Am
we pressed our faces to the glass
F G Am
as i sat sadly by her side

she said , “father , mother , sister , brother ,
uncle , aunt , nephew , niece ,
soldier , sailor , physician , labourer ,
actor , scientist , mechanic , priest
earth and moon and sun and stars
planets and comets with tails blazing
all are there forever falling
falling lovely and amazing”

then she smiled and turned to me
and waited for me to reply
her hair was falling down her shoulders
as i sat sadly by her side

as i sat sadly by her side
the kitten she did gently pass
over to me and again we pressed
our different faces to the glass
“that may be very well” , i said
“but watch the one falling in the street
see him gesture to his neighbours
see him trampled beneath their feet
all outward motion connects to nothing
for each is concerned with their immediate need
witness the man reaching up from the gutter
see the other one stumbling on who can not see”

with trembling hand i turned toward her
and pushed the hair out of her eyes
the kitten jumped back to her lap
as i sat sadly by her side

then she drew the curtains down
and said , “when will you ever learn
that what happens there beyond the glass
is simply none of your concern?
god has given you but one heart
you are not a home for the hearts of your brothers

and god does not care for your benevolence
anymore than he cares for the lack of it in others
nor does he care for you to sit
at windows in judgement of the world he created
while sorrows pile up around you
ugly , useless and over – inflated”

at which she turned her head away
great tears leaping from her eyes
i could not wipe the smile from my face
as i sat sadly by her side

2 . no more shall we part ( cave )

A#7 A7 Dm
and no more shall we part
A#7 A7 Dm
it will no longer be necessary
F Gm C
and no more will i say , dear heart
C7 A#7 A7 Dm
i Am alone and she has left me

A#7 A7 Dm
and no more shall we part
A#7 A7 Dm
the contracts are drawn up , the ring is locked upon the finger
F Gm C
and never again will my letters start
A#7 A7 Dm
sadly , or in the depths of winter

A#7 A7 Dm
and no more shall we part
A#7 A7 Dm
all the hatchets have been buried now
F Gm
and all of birds will sing to your
C
beautiful heart
A#7 A7 Dm
upon the bough

A#7 A7 Dm
and no more shall we part
A#7 A7 Dm
your chain of command has been silenced now
F Gm C
and all of those birds would’ve sung to your beautiful heart
A#7 A7 Dm
anyhow

F C
lord , stay by me
Gm C
don’t go down
F C
i will never be free
Gm C
if i’m not free now

lord , stay by me
Gm C
don’t go down
F C
i never was free
Gm C
what are you talking about?

A#7 A7 Dm
for no more shall we part
A#7 A7 Dm
and no more shall we part

3 . hallelujah ( cave/Ellis )

intro : Am G Am G

Am
on the first day of may i took to the road
G
i’d been staring out the window most of the morning
Am
i’d watched the rain claw at the glass
G
and a vicious wind blew hard and fast
Am
i should have taken it as a warning
G
as a warning
Am
as a warning
G
as a warning

i’d given my nurse the weekend off
my meals were ill prepared
my typewriter had turned mute as a tomb
and my piano crouched in the corner of my room
with all its teeth bared
all its teeth bared all its teeth bared
all its teeth bared .

hallelujah hallelujah
hallelujah hallelujah

bridge :
A# F Em D
A# F D# D

i left my house without my coat
something my nurse would not have allowed
and i took the small roads out of town
and i passed a cow and the cow was brown
and my pyjamas clung to me like a shroud
like a shroud like a shroud
like a shroud

there rose before me a little house
with all hope and dreams kept within
a woman’s voice close to my ear
said , “why don’t you come in here?”
“you looked soaked to the skin”
soaked to the skin soaked to the skin
soaked to the skin

hallelujah hallelujah
hallelujah hallelujah

i turned to the woman and the woman was young
i extended a hearty salutation
but i knew if my nurse had been here
she would never in a thousand years
permit me to accept that invitation
invitation that invitation
that invitation

now , you might think it wise to risk it all
throw caution to the reckless wind
but with her hot cocoa and her medication
my nurse had been my one salvation
so i turned back home
i turned back home i turned back home
singing my song

hallelujah
the tears are welling in my eyes again
hallelujah
i need twenty big buckets to catch them in
hallelujah
and twenty pretty girls to carry
them down
hallelujah
and twenty deep holes to bury them in
hallelujah
the tears are welling in my eyes again
hallelujah
i need twenty big buckets to catch them in
hallelujah
and twenty pretty girls to carry them down
hallelujah
and twenty deep holes to bury them in

4 . love letter ( cave )

D# G#
i hold this letter in my hand
D#
a plea , a petition , a kind of prayer
G#
i hope it does as i have planned

losing her again is more than i can bear
D# G#
i kiss the cold , white envelope
D#
i press my lips against her name
G#
two hundred words . we live in hope
D#
the sky hangs heavy with rain

D# G#
love letter love letter
D# G#
go get her go get her
D# A
love letter love letter
D# A# – G#
go tell her go tell her

D# G#
a wicked wind whips up the hill
D#
a handful of hopeful words
G#
i love her and i always will
the sky is ready to burst
D#
said something i did not mean to say
G#
said something i did not mean to say
D#
said something i did not mean to say
G#
it all came out the wrong way

D# G#
love letter love letter
D# G#
go get her go get her
D# G#
love letter love letter
D# A# – G#
go tell her go tell her

rain your kisses down upon me
rain your kisses down in storms
and for all who’ll come before me
in your slowly fading forms
i’m going out of my mind
will leave me standing in
the rain with a letter and a prayer
whispered on the wind

A# G#
come back to me
A# G#
come back to me
A# G# A# D#
o baby please come back to me

5 . fifteen feet of pure white snow ( cave )
where is mona?
Am
she’s long gone
Am
where is mary?
she’s taken her along
but they haven’t put their mittens on
G Am
and there’s fifteen feet of pure white snow?

Am
where is michael?
where is mark?
where is mathew
now it’s getting dark?
where is john? they are all out back
G Am
under fifteen feet of pure white snow
G
would you please put down that telephone
Am
we’re under fifteen feet of pure white snow

i waved to my neighbour
my neighbour waved to me
but my neighbour
is my enemy
i kept waving my arms
till i could not see
under fifteen feet of pure white snow

is anybody
out there please?
it’s too quiet in here
and i’m beginning to freeze
i’ve got icicles hanging
from my knees
under fifteen feet of pure white snow

Am
is there anybody here who feels this low?
G Am
under fifteen feet of pure white snow

G
raise your hands up to the sky
raise your hands up to the sky
raise your hands up to the sky
is it any wonder?
Am F
oh my lord oh my lord
Am F – G – Am
oh my lord oh my lord

doctor , doctor
i’m going mad
this is the worst day
i’ve ever had
i can’t remember
ever feeling this bad
under fifteen feet of pure white snow
where’s my nurse
i need some healing
i’ve been paralysed
by a lack of feeling
i can’t even find
anything worth stealing
under fifteen feet of pure white snow

is there anyone else here who doesn’t know?
we’re under fifteen feet of pure white snow

raise your hands up to the sky
raise your hands up to the sky
raise your hands up to the sky
is it any wonder?
oh my lord oh my lord
oh my lord oh my lord
save yourself! help yourself!
save yourself! help yourself!
save yourself! help yourself!
save yourself! help yourself!

6 . god is in the house ( cave )

C
we’ve laid the cables and the wires
C
we’ve split the wood and stoked
the fires
C
we’ve lit our town so there is no
F
place for crime to hide
Dm
our little church is painted white
G
and in the safety of the night
we all go quiet as a mouse
for the word is out
C
god is in the house
F
god is in the house
Dm
god is in the house
G
no cause for worry now
C
god is in the house

moral sneaks in the white house
computer geeks in the school house
drug freaks in the crack house
we don’t have that stuff here
we have a tiny little force
but we need them of course
for the kittens in the trees
and at night we are on our knees
as quiet as a mouse
for god is in the house
god is in the house
god is in the house
and no one’s left in doubt
god is in the house

homos roaming the streets in packs
queer bashers with tyre – jacks
lesbian counter – attacks
that stuff is for the big cities
our town is very pretty
we have a pretty little square
we have a woman for a mayor
our policy is firm but fair
now that god is in the house
god is in the house
god is in the house
any day now he’ll come out
god is in the house

well – meaning little therapists
goose – stepping twelve – stepping tetotalitarianists
the tipsy , the reeling and the drop down pissed
we got no time for that stuff here
zero crime and no fear
we’ve bred all our kittens white
so you can see them in the night
and at night we’re on our knees
as quiet as a mouse
since the word got out
from the north down to the south
for no – one’s left in doubt
there’s no fear about
if we all hold hands and very quietly shout
hallelujah
god is in the house
god is in the house
oh i wish he would come out
god is in the house

7 . oh my lord ( cave )

Em
i thought i’d take a walk today
D
it’s a mistake i sometimes make
Em
my children lay asleep in bed
D
my wife lay wide – awake
Em
i kissed her softly on the brow
D
i tried not to make a sound
Em
but with stony eyes she looked at me
D
and gently squeezed my hand
Em D
call it a premonition , call it a crazy vision
Em D
call it intuition , something learned from mother
Em D
but when she looked up at me , i could clearly see
Em D Em
the sword of damocles hanging directly above her
D Em
oh lord oh my lord
D
oh lord

G G7
how have i offended thee?
C Cm
wrap your tender arms around me
G D
oh lord oh lord
Em D
oh my lord

they called at me through the fence
they were not making any sense
they claimed that i had lost the plot
kept saying that i was not
the man i used to be
they held their babes aloft
threw marsh mellows at the security
and said that i’d grown soft
call it intuition , call it a creeping suspicion ,
but their words of derision meant they hardly knew me
for even i could see in the way they looked at me
the spear of destiny sticking right through me
oh lord oh my lord
oh lord
how have i offended thee?
wrap your tender arms round me
oh lord oh lord
oh my lord

now i’m at the hairdressers
people watch me as they move past
a guy wearing plastic antlers
presses his bum against the glass
now i’m down on my hands and knees
and it’s so fxxking hot!
someone cries , “what are you looking for?”
i scream , “the plot , the plot!”
i grab my telephone , i call my wife at home
she screams , “leave us alone!” i say , “hey , it’s only me”
the hairdresser with his scissors , he holds up the mirror
i look back and shiver; i can’t even believe what i can see

be mindful of the prayers you send
pray hard but pray with care
for the tears that you are crying now
are just your answered prayers
the laddErs of life that we scale merrily
move mysteriously around
so that when you think you’re climbing up , man
in fact you’re climbing down
into the hollows of glamour , where with spikes and hammer
with telescopic camera , they chose to turn the screw
oh i hate them , ma! oh i hate them , pa!
oh i hate them all for what they went and done to you
oh lord oh my lord
oh lord
how have i offended thee?
wrap your tender arms round me
oh lord oh lord
oh my lord

8 . sweetheart come ( cave/Adamson )

come over here , babe
C
it ain’t that bad
G
i don’t claim to understand
Am
the troubles that you’ve had
Am
but the dogs you say they fed you to
C
lay their muzzles in your lap
G
and the lions that they led you to
Am
lie down and take a nap
Am
the ones you fear are wind and air
C
and i love you without measure
G
it seems we can be happy now
Am
be it better late than never

Am
sweetheart , come ( 2x )
C
sweetheart , come ( 2x )
G
sweetheart , come ( 2x )
Am
sweetheart , come to me

the burdens that you carry now
are not of your creation
so let’s not weep for their evil deeds
but for their lack of imagination
today’s the time for courage , babe
tomorrow can be for forgiving
and if he touches you again with his stupid hands
his life won’t be worth living

sweetheart , come
sweetheart , come
sweetheart , come
sweetheart , come to me

walk with me now under the stars
for it’s a clear and easy pleasure
and be happy in my company
for i love you without measure
walk with me now under the stars
it’s a safe and easy pleasure
it seems we can be happy now
it’s late but it ain’t never
it’s late but it ain’t never
it’s late but it ain’t never

9 . the sorrowful wife ( cave )

Am
i married my wife on the day of the eclipse
Dm
our friends awarded her courage with gifts
Am
now as the nights grow longer and the season shifts
G
i look to my sorrowful wife
F G Am
who is quietly tending her flowers
F G
who is quietly tending her . . . . .

( played over piano solo )
Am – Dm – Am – Dm – F – G – Am – Dm – Am – Dm

Am
the water is high on the beckoning river
Dm
i made her a promise i could not deliver
Am
and the cry of the birds sends a terrible shiver
G
through me and my sorrowful wife
F G Am
who is shifting the furniture around
F G
who is shifting the furniture around

( played over piano solo )
Am – Dm – Am – Dm – F – G – Am – Dm – Am – Dm

Am
now we sit beneath the knotted yew
Dm
and the bluebells bob around our shoes
Am
the task of remembering the telltale clues
G
goes to my lovely , my sorrowful wife
F G Am
who is counting the days on her fingers
F G Dm
who is counting the days on her . . . . .
Am
come on and help me babe
Dm
come on now
Am
help me babe
Dm
i was blind
F
the grass here grows long and high
G
twists right up to the sky
Am Dm
white clouds roll on by
Am
come on now and help me babe
Dm
i was blind
Am
i was a fool babe
Dm
i was blind
come on now
F
a loose wind last night blew down
G
black trees bent to the ground
Am Dm
their blossoms made such a sound
that i could not hear myself think babe
come on now
and help me babe
help me now
i was blind
i was a fool

10 . we came along this road ( cave )

Am F
i left by the back door
G Dm
with my wife’s lover’s smoking gun
Am F
i don’t know what i was hoping for
G Dm
i hit the road at a run
Am F
i was your lover
G Dm
i was your man
Am F
there never was no other
G Dm
i was your friend
C
till we came along this road
G
till we came along this road
Am
till we came along this road

Am – F – G – Dm

i ain’t sent you no letters , ma
but i’m looking quite a trip
the world spinning beneath me , ma
guns blazing at my hip
you were my lover
you were my friend
there never was no other
on whom i could depend
then we came along this road
we came along this road
we came along this road

11 . gates of the garden ( cave )

Am
past the ivy – covered windows of the angel
Dm G
down athenaeum lane to the cathedral
Am
trough the churchyard i wandered
Dm G
sat for a spell there and i pondered
F G
my back to the gates
F G
my back to the gates
F G C
my back to the gates of the garden

Am
fugitive fathers , sickly infants , decent mothers
Dm G
runaways and suicidal lovers
Am
assorted boxes of ordinary bones
Dm G
of aborted plans and sudden shattered hopes
F G
in unlucky rows
F G
in unhappy rows
F G C F – G
in unlucky rows , up to the gates of the garden

C G
won’t you meet me at the gates
C G
won’t you meet me at the gates
C G
won’t you meet me at the gates
C
to the garden

beneath the creeping shadow of the tower
the bell from st . edmunds informs me of the hour
i turn to find you waiting there for me
in sunlight and i see the way that you breathe
alive and leaning on the gates of the garden
alive and leaning on the gates of the garden
alive and leaning on the gates of the garden

leave these ancient places to the angels
let the saints attend to their keeping of the cathedrals
and leave the dead beneath the ground so cold
for god is in this hand that i hold
as we open up the gates of the garden

won’t you meet me at the gates
won’t you meet me at the gates
won’t you meet me at the gates
to the garden

12 . darker with the day ( cave/Ellis )
G
as so with that , i thought i’d take a final walk
G7
the tide of public opinion had started to abate
C
the neighbours , bless them , had
turned out to be all talk
Cm
i could see their frightened faces
peering at me trough the gate

i was looking for an end to this , for some kind of closure
time moved so rapidly , i had no hope
of keeping track of it
i thought of my friends who had died of exposure
and i remembered other ones who
had died from the lack of it

and in my best shoes i started falling
forward down the street
i stopped at a church and jostled trough the crowd
and love followed just behind me
panting at my feet
at the steeple tore the stomach from a lonely little cloud

inside i sat , seeking the presence of a god
i searched trough the pictures in A
leather – bound book
i found a woolly lamb dozing in an issue of blood
and a gilled jesus shivering on A
fisherman’s hook

G G7
babe , it seems so long
C Cm A#
since you’ve been gone away and i
F
just got to say
Gm F D# D G
that it grows darker with the day

back on the street i saw a great big smiling sun
it was a good day and an evil day and
all was bright and new
and it seemed to me that most
destruction was beeing done
by those who could not choose
between the two

amateurs , dilettantes , hacks , cowboys , clones
the streets groan with little caesars ,
napoleons and cunts
with their building blocks and their tiny
plastic phones
counting on their fingers , with crumbs
down their fronts

i passed by your garden , saw you with your flowers
the mangolias , camellias and azaleas so sweet
and i stood there invisible in the panicking crowds
you looked so beatiful in the rising heat

i smell smoke , see little fires bursting on the lawns
people carry on regardless , listening to their hands
great cracks appear in the pavement ,
the earth yawns
bored and disgusted , to do us down

babe
it seems so long
since you’ve been gone
and i
just got to say
that it grows darker with the day

these streets are frozen now
i come and go
full of a longing for something i do
not know
my father sits slumped in the
deepening snow
as i search , in and out , above ,
about , below

babe
it seems so long
since you went away
and i
just got to say
that it grows darker with the day

credit to