Tim Minchin - The Fence

from tim’s new arena tour . of course it doesn’t compare to the man himself and his
gigantic orchestra , but it’s something to play along with if you enjoy the song and/or want
to spread the message about rationalism . enjoy! and buy the album!

[ verse 1 ]
G G
somewhere in your wardrobe i’d be willing to bet
F C
there’s a t – shirt probly bearing the silhouette of che guevara

( not sure on this little funky bit as i can’t find a way to make it fit in with the
song , just sticking to a pause after the C , but here’s what i think it is )
E – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
B – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
G – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – | x2
A – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
D – – – 3p1p0 – – – 3p1p0 – – – – 3 – – 5 – – – – – |
E – – – – – – – – – 3 – – – – – – – 3 – – – – – – – – – – – |
( anyway , on with the show )

G
he was revolutionary , yeah , he wore a cool hat
F C
but behind the design i think you might find it’s not quite as simple as that

( funky bit )
A#5 A5 G
che was a bit of a homophobe , che was a bit of a homophooooobe x2

[ chorus ]
G Bm C
this is my song in defence of the fence
D
a little sing along , a tribute to ambivalence
D# A#
the more you know the harder you will find it
F D#
to make up your mind it doesn’t really matter if you find
D#
you can’t see which grass is greener
A# F
chances are it’s neither and either way it’s easier
D# F G
to see the difference when you’re sitting on the fence

[ verse 2 ]
G
somewhere in your house i’d be willing to bet
F C
there’s a picture of that grinning hippy from tibet – the dalai llama

( funky town )
G
he’s a lovely , funny fella , he does good stuff galore
F C
but let’s not forget that back in tibet those funky monks used to dick the poor yeah

( funktaculous )
A# A
G
and the [ buddhist slime? ] about future lives is the perfect way to stop the powerless
rising up
A# A
G
and he tells the poor they will live again , cos he’s rich now so it’s easy for him to say

[ chrous ]
G Bm C
i’m taking a stand in defence of the fence
C D
i got a little band playing anthems to ambivalence
D# A#
we divide the world into terrorists and heroes
F D#
into normal folk and weirdos , into good people and paedos
D# A#
into things that give you cancer and the things that cu – ure cancer
F
and the things that don’t cause cancer , but there’s a chance they will cause cancer in
the future
D# A#
we divide the world to stop us feeling frightened
F D#
into wrong and into right and into black and into white and
D# A#
into real men and fairies , into status quo and scary
F D# F
G
yeah we want the world binary , binary , but it’s not that simple .

[ break ] terrible hand diagram – > _ | | | |
01234
chords used :
( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 )
E – – – x – – – – – – | – – – x – – – – – | – – – x – – – – | – – x – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
B – – – 3 – – – – – – | – – – 3 – – – – – | – – – 3 – – – – | – – 3 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
G – – – 0 – – – – – – | – – – 0 – – – – – | – – – 0 – – – – | – – 0 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
A – – – 0 – – – – – – | – – – 3 – – – – – | – – – 2 – – – – | – – 1 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
D – – – x – – – – – – | – – – x – – – – – | – – – x – – – – | – – x – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
E – – – 3 – – – – – – | – – – 3 – – – – – | – – – 3 – – – – | – – 3 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |

fingers for each note :
4 4 4 4
3 1 1
2 2 2 2

( 1 ) ( 2 )
and your dog has a bigger carbon footprint than a four wheel drive
( 3 ) ( 4 )
yea your dog has a bigger carbon footprint than a four wheel drive
( 1 ) ( 2 )
and your dog has a bigger carbon footprint than a four wheel drive
( 3 ) – stop –
well so does your baby , maybe you oughta trade him in for a prius

rock! ( no idea how this would work on an acoustic , but if you want you can hit an F for
a few bars while shaking your head around like a maniac )

[ chorus ]
G Bm C
i’m taking a stand in defence of the fence
C D
i got a little band playing tributes to ambivalence
D# A#
we divide the world into liberals and gun – freaks
F D#
into atheists and fundies , into tee – tot’lers and junkies
D# A#
into chemical and natural , into fictional and factual
F
into science and supernatural , but it’s actually naturally not that white and black
you’ll be
D# A#
dividing us into terrorists and heroes
F D#
into normal folk and weirdos , into good people and paedos
D# A#
into things that give you cancer and the things that cu – ure cancer
F
and things that don’t cause cancer , but there’s a chance that in the future
D# A#
we divide the world to stop us feeling frightened
F D#
into wrong and into right and into black and into white and
D# A#
into real men and fairies , into status quo and scary
F
yeah we want the world binary , binary , 00 11 – 01!

D# , A# , F , D#
D# , A# , F

D# A#
the more you know the harder you will find it
F D#
to make up your mind it doesn’t really matter if you find
D#
you can’t see which grass is greener
A# F
chances are it’s neither and either way it’s easier
D# F G
to see the difference when you’re sitting on the fence