Esther chords by The Hold Steady

Chords with lyrics

Tuning: Standard (E MajorE A augmentedA D MajorD G+G BB E MajorE)

Key: C majorC

Difficulty: Novice

Verse 1:

    C majorC             A minorAm
In the middle of a mission I met Esther in the kitchen
G+G                   A minorAm
Drinking something blue it looked like Windex
C majorC
She could shake but couldn't really sing, Sharpened like a feral thing
G+G                  A minorAm
Helped me with my part when I lost interest

  E MajorE               FF
She said her name was Esther I said baby that sounds biblical
    C majorC               G+G
Ain't she the one that came up after Vashti?
C majorC
Yeah and then some other stuff
  A minorAm
At some point there I fell in love
G+G                  A minorAm
Then she heard a song she liked and lost me

Chorus:

  C majorC            A minorAm
The party ended suddenly, suddenly it's over
   FF
That left me an Esther all alone and getting older
   C majorC            A minorAm
All alone and getting older smoking in the street
   FF
Now everything is Esther and it's been that way all week

C majorC A minorAm G+G A minorAm C majorC  G+G A minorAm

Verse 2:

C majorC                   A minorAm
The times that we were powerless were times that I remember best
   G+G                 A minorAm
When it first came on it felt just like a blanket
C majorC
Once we had a little bit we pretty much just wasted it
G+G                      A minorAm
Traded in our tickets for drinks and little trinkets

  E MajorE                FF
The scene back in the city was the opposite of freedom
C majorC                     G+G
We were always so damn broke it was this whole dependent fallacy
C majorC              A minorAm
They started shooting so the songs of the future
G+G               A minorAm
Esther always wants it how it used to be

Chorus:

C majorC                     A minorAm
Songs all ran together and the kids ran outta liquor
FF
That's when me and Esther started staring at each other
     C majorC          A minorAm
Started staring at each other feeling pretty sweet
   FF
Now everything is Esther it's been that way all week
   C majorC             A minorAm
The parties fall to pieces the endings are so heavy
FF
Feels like no one's watching when we're this deep in the valley
      C majorC               A minorAm
When we're this deep in the valley you can see so many stars
   FF
When Esther told her story we were sitting in the car

Bridge:

A minorAm             FF
  She said her folks were never close
            C majorC
They had me 'cause they had to
        G+G
No one named me Esther
           FF
That came up a little later
         C majorC
It was after some detective
              G+G
Came around here with some questions
        E minorEm
I went out to Colorado
         FF
Was mostly in the motels
           C majorC
Started living pretty reckless
            G+G
Started calling myself Esther
                 E minorEm   E MajorE
I just felt like someone different

Instrumental:
C majorC  A minorAm  FF x2

Chorus:

C majorC              A minorAm
Felt like someone different and I never could forgive
    FF
All the movies in our heads about the lives we wanna live
   C majorC            A minorAm
The lives we wanna live are all free of pain and fear
  FF
Now Esther's getting cigarettes and me I'm buying beer


C majorC          A minorAm
Felt like someone different felt like someone else
  FF
She almost died in Denver, she did it to herself
  C majorC          A minorAm
She did it herself, there's only her to blame
  FF
Of course I call her Esther I don't know her other name

   C majorC         A minorAm
She's never going home her folks were never close
  FF
We mostly watch the TV crack the windows when we smoke
  C majorC        A minorAm
Her aura is amazing her room is kind of bleak
   FF
I met Esther at a party got together for a week

C majorC A minorAm FF