written by Leonard Cohen
Chords: Am/f: 102210
Intro: Am . Am/f .| Am/f . . . | Am Am/f The door it opened slowly Am Am/f My father he came in G F E I was nine years old Am Am/f And he stood so tall above me Am Am/f His blue eyes they were shining G F E And his voice was very cold C He said, "I've had a vision And you know I'm strong and holy D Am B I must do what I've been told." F Bb So we started up the mountain F Bb I was running, he was walking F G A Am And his axe was made of gold Well, the trees they got much smaller The lake was like a lady's mirror We stopped to drink some wine Then he threw the bottle over Broke a minute later And he put his hand on mine Thought I saw an eagle But it might have been a vulture I never could decide Then my father built an altar He looked once behind his shoulder He knew I would not hide You who build these altars now To sacrifice these children You must not do it anymore A scheme is not a vision And you never have been tempted By a demon or a god You who stand above them now Your hatchets blunt and bloody You were not there before When I lay upon a mountain And my father's hand was trembling With the beauty of the word And if you call me brother now Forgive me if I inquire "Just according to whose plan?" When it all comes down to dust I will kill you if I must I will help you if I can When it all comes down to dust I will help you if I must I will kill you if I can And mercy on our uniform Man of peace or man of war The peacock spreads his fan
Intro: Am Am/f | . . . | . . . E:-------------------------------------------------------------------: B:--1---------------1---------------1---------------1----------------: G:------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2----: D:----2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2--: A:--0----------------------------------------------------------------: E:----------0-------1-------0-------1-------0-------1-------0--------: Am Am/f | . . . E:-----------------------------------: B:--1---------------1----------------: G:------2-------2-------2-------2----: D:----2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2--: A:--0--------------------------------: E:----------0-------1-------0--------: Verse: Am Am/f Am Am/f | . . . | . . . E:-------------------------------------------------------------------: B:--1---------------1---------------1---------------1----------------: G:------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2----: D:----2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---0--: A:--0-------------------------------0--------------------------------: E:----------0-------1-------0---------------0-------1-------0--------: G F E | . . . | . E:---------------------------------------------------: B:--0-------1-------0---------------0----------------: G:------0-------2-------1-------1-------1-------1----: D:----0---0---3---0---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---0--: A:---------------------------------------------------: E:--3-------1-------0-------0-------0-------0--------: Am Am/f Am Am/f | . . . | . . . E:-------------------------------------------------------------------: B:--1---------------1---------------1---------------1----------------: G:------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2----: D:----2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---0--: A:--0-------------------------------0--------------------------------: E:----------0-------1-------0---------------0-------1-------0--------: G F E | . . . | . E:---------------------------------------------------: B:--0-------1-------0---------------0----------------: G:------0-------2-------1-------1-------1-------1----: D:----0---0---3---0---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---0--: A:---------------------------------------------------: E:--3-------1-------0-------0-------0-------0--------: C | . . . | . . . E:--0---------------3---------------0---------------3----------------: B:------1-------1-------1-------1-------1-------1-------1-------1----: G:----0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0--: D:-------------------------------------------------------------------: A:--3-------3-------3-------3-------3-------3-------3-------3--------: E:-------------------------------------------------------------------: D Am B | . . . | . E:--2-------0-----------2-----------2----------------: B:------3-------1---4-----------4-------4-------0----: G:----2---0---2---0---4---4---4---4---4---4---4---0--: D:--0------------------------------------------------: A:----------0-------2-------2-------2-------2--------: E:---------------------------------------------------: F Bb F Bb | . . . | . . . E:-------------------------------------------------------------------: B:--1-----------0---3-----------0---1-----------0---3-----------0----: G:------2---------------3---------------2---------------3------------: D:----3---3---3---0---3---3---3---0---3---3---3---0---3---3---3---0--: A:------------------1-------1-----------------------1-------1--------: E:--1-------1-----------------------1-------1------------------------: F G A | . . . | . . . E:-------------------------------------------------------------------: B:--1-----------0---0---------------2---------------2----------------: G:------2---------------0-------0-------2-------2-------2-------2----: D:----3---3---3---0---0---0---0---0---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2--: A:----------------------------------0-------0-------0-------0--------: E:--1-------1-------3-------3----------------------------------------: Am Am/f Am Am/f | . . . | . . . E:-------------------------------------------------------------------: B:--1---------------1---------------1---------------1----------------: G:------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2-------2----: D:----2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---0--: A:--0-------------------------------0--------------------------------: E:----------0-------1-------0---------------0-------1-------0--------: