American chords by The Max Levine Ensemble

Verse:
C              F
 i was born in 1984.
     Am           G              C
post vietnam, and then post cold war,
                   F
in a world that my parents worked hard for,
Am                     G
i grew up safely and secure,
C                        F
 which all in all, was a cause to celebrate.
         Am                    G
we said "mess with us, and you must be crazy,
C                   F
got my money on the dream team, baby!
Am                        G
we take gold and it comes easy."

Chorus:
Am                     G
 and the sentiment was raised in me.
C                     F
 to know proudly, unmistakably
Am
who i am...
            G
and where i stand…
     C   Am G F Am G
american.
     C   Am G F Am G
american.


Verse:
          C                  F
but given time, found myself questioning
                Am               G
a country i saw biding time in a confrontation
C                    F
guess i never really saw this place as
Am                    G
fighting wars of speculation.
             C                    F
but i didn't see how our nation's history
                Am
was not fully revealed to me.
     G              C           F             Am
no i didn't see how our "invincibility" was naive,
                       G
like our power, “guaranteed.”


Chorus:
Am                          G
and the questions raised up out from me,
C                   F
in the company of a fading dream,
        Am
i asked who am i?
                 G
and for what do i stand?
     C   Am G F Am G
american
     C   Am G F Am G
american.


Bridge:
C F Am F C F Am F

C
growing up i had a grasp on the concept
C
of "war" as a thing from the past
    F
that held a place in our history
F
but never really could apply to me
  Am
a decade passed yeah engaged in conflict
Am
a generation came of age under it
F
raised in fear and uncertainty
F
but that was never how it felt to me cause
    C
the first gulf war in my dim recollection
C
was a time we cheered in celebration
F
at parades that they held for the troops then
F
though i never even knew what happened,
Am
bosnia broadcast on tv,
    Am
the berlin wall, in my memory,
F
crumbled beneath our undying belief,
F
in this, the empire of liberty yeah.

C
i was a child brought up in contradiction
C
i never held these events to be questioned
F
but the years wore at my confidence
F
and with time it started making sense:
  Am
rejection faced internationally,
Am
it’s all part of the backlash baby
F
look inside, tell me what you see,
F
can you tell me now what it means to be
 C       Am G
american?
     F   Am G
american
     C    Am G F Am G
american


Outro:
C Am G F Am G C
     C