Democracy chords by Leonard Cohen

Tuning: Standard EBGDAE

Difficulty: Novice


Democracy by Leonard Cohen


       D               G           A
It's coming through a hole in the air,
             D          A        D
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
       G
It's coming from the feel

that this ain't exactly real,
         D
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
          F#
From the wars against disorder,
          Bm
from the sirens night and day,
          F#
from the fires of the homeless,
          Bm
from the ashes of the gay:
    A               G            D
Democracy is coming   to the U.S.A.

       D              G              A
It's coming through a  crack in the wall;
        D        A         D
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
             G
from the staggering account

of the Sermon on the Mount
         D
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
      F#
It's coming from the silence
       Bm
on the   dock of the bay,
           F#
from the brave, the bold, the battered
         Bm
heart of   Chevrolet:
   A                G            D
Democracy is coming   to the U.S.A.


       D               G             A
It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
     D            A              D
the holy places where the races meet;
            G
from the homicidal bitchin'

that goes down in every kitchen
       D
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
           F#
From the wells of disappointment
           Bm
where the women kneel to pray
         F#
for the grace of God in the desert here
          Bm
and the desert far away:
    A                G            D
Democracy is coming    to the U.S.A.


 A        G
Sail on, sail on
    D
O mighty Ship of State!
         A
To the Shores of Need
           G
Past the Reefs of Greed
               D
Through the Squalls of Hate
 A                  G        D
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.


       D         G       A
It's coming to America first,
      D            A                D
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
      G
It's here they got the range

and the machinery for change
          D
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
      F#
It's here the family's broken
          Bm
and it's here the lonely say
          F#
that the heart has got to open
        Bm
in a fundamental way:
    A               G            D
Democracy is coming   to the U.S.A.


       D               G            A
It's coming from the women and the men.
   D               A           D
O baby, we'll be making love again.
           G
We'll be going down so deep

the river's going to weep,
           D
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
       F#
It's coming like the tidal flood
  Bm
beneath the lunar sway,
  F#
imperial, mysterious,
     Bm
in amorous array:
    A               G            D
Democracy is coming   to the U.S.A.


 A        G
Sail on, sail on ...


        D               G              A
I'm sentimental, if you   know what I mean
              D          A                   D
I love the country but I   can't stand the scene.
          G
And I'm neither left or right

I'm just staying home tonight,
         D
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
           F#
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
      Bm
that Time cannot decay,
     F#
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
       Bm
this little wild bouquet:
   A                G            D
Democracy is coming   to the U.S.A