Okkervil River - The War Criminal Rises And Speaks

the main progression is :
C , G ( bar ) , Am , F , Dm , G , Dm , F , G

the last two chords don’t hold out for the full four – count . there
are two instances where this progression gets cut in half . the first
is when the song starts to climax and the last is at the end . when
this happens , play :
C , G , Am , F , G

once again you play the last two chords quicker than the others .
the part where it gets quiet again ( but the news today always
fades . . . ) you are going to have to listen closely to B/C it changes
a lot . i believe that i have it figured out pretty well , just work
in some hammer – ons and whatnot . it sounds like they are playing with
a capo on though , so maybe this whole thing should be transcribed
with it on the fith fret . . .

C
the heart wants to feel .
G
the heart wants to hold .
Am
the heart takes past subway ,
past stop and shop , past beal’s ,
F
and calls it “coming home . ”
Dm
the heart wants a trail
G
away from “alone , ”
Dm
so the heart turns a sale
F G
into a well – worn milestone
towards hard – won soft furniture ,
fought – for fast food ,
defended end table that
holds paperbacks and back u . s . news .
the mind turns an itch
into a bruise ,
and the hands start to twitch
when they’re feeling ill – used .

and you’re almost back now ,
you can see by the signs;
from the bank you tell the temperature
and then the time ,
and the billboard reads some headlines .
the head wants to turn ,
to avert both its eyes ,
but the mind wants to learn
of some truth that might be
inside reported crimes .

so they found a lieutenant
who killed a village of kids .
after finishing off the wives ,
he wiped off his knife
and that’s what he did .
and they’re not claiming that
there’s any excusing it;
that was thirty years back ,
and they just get paid for the facts
the way they got them in .

C
now he’s rising and not denying .
G
his hands are shaking , but he’s not crying .
Am
and he’s saying ’how did i climb
F
out of a life so boring into that moment?
G C
please stop ignoring the heart inside ,
G
oh you readers at home!
Am
while you gasp at my bloody crimes ,

please take the time
F
to make your heart my home :
Dm
where i’m forgiven by time ,
G
where i’m cushioned by hope ,
Dm
where i’m numbed by long drives ,
F G
where i’m talked off or doped .
C
does the heart wants to atone?
oh , i believe that it’s so ,
because if i could climb back through time ,
i’d restore their lives and then give back my own :
tens of times now its size
on a far distant road
in a far distant time
where every night i’m still crying ,
entirely alone . ’
Am G Am
but the news today always fades away as you drive by ,
F C G
until at dinnertime when you look into her eyes ,
F G
lit by evening sun – that , as usual , comes
C C – B Am
from above that straight , unbroken line ,
G
the horizon
Am G
– its rising
C C – B Am
is a given ,
G
just like your living .

your heart’s warm and kind .
your mind is your own .
our blood – spattered criminal
is inscrutable;
don’t worry , he won’t
rise up behind your eyes
and take wild control .
he’s not of this time ,
he fell out of a hole .