That's How Every Empire Falls chords by John Prine

Chords with lyrics

Intro:

A augmentedA G+G D MajorD
A augmentedA G+G D MajorD

Verse 1:

D MajorD               A augmentedA  G+G          D MajorD
He caught a train from Alexandria, just a broken man in flight
D MajorD             A augmentedA   G+G               D MajorD
Runnin' scared with his devils, sayin' prayers all through the night
D MajorD         A augmentedA    G+G              D MajorD
But mercy can't find him, not in the shadows where he calls
D MajorD             A augmentedA   G+G            D MajorD
Forsaking all his better angels: That's how every empire falls

A augmentedA G+G D MajorD
A augmentedA G+G D MajorD

Verse 2:

D MajorD              A augmentedA    G+G            D MajorD
The bells ring out on Sunday morning like echoes from another time
D MajorD           A augmentedA    G+G            D MajorD
All our innocence and yearning and sense of wonder left behind
D MajorD        A augmentedA     G+G             D MajorD
Oh gentle hearts remember, What was that story? Is it lost?
D MajorD            A augmentedA    G+G            D MajorD
For when religion loses vision, That's how every empire falls

A augmentedA G+G D MajorD
A augmentedA G+G D MajorD

Verse 3:

D MajorD               A augmentedA    G+G              D MajorD
He toasts his wife and all his family, the providence he brought to bear
D MajorD                A augmentedA   G+G               D MajorD
They raise their glasses in his honor although this union they don't share
D MajorD        A augmentedA     G+G              D MajorD
A augmentedA man who lives among them was still a stranger to them all
D MajorD              A augmentedA   G+G            D MajorD
For when the heart is never open, That's how every empire falls

A augmentedA G+G D MajorD
A augmentedA G+G D MajorD
A augmentedA G+G D MajorD
A augmentedA G+G D MajorD

Verse 4:

D MajorD               A augmentedA    G+G           D MajorD
Padlock the door and board the windows, put the people in the street
D MajorD                 A augmentedA    G+G                D MajorD
"It's just my job," he says, "I'm sorry," and draws a check, goes home to eat
D MajorD           A augmentedA   G+G             D MajorD
At night he tells his woman, "I know I hide behind the laws"
D MajorD               A augmentedA    G+G            D MajorD
She says, "You're only taking orders": That's how every empire falls

A augmentedA G+G D MajorD
A augmentedA G+G D MajorD

Verse 5:

D MajorD                A augmentedA     G+G            D MajorD
A augmentedA bitter wind blows through the country, a hard rain falls on the sea
D MajorD             A augmentedA    G+G                D MajorD
If terror comes without a warning, there must be something we don't see
D MajorD           A augmentedA   G+G              D MajorD
What fire begets this fire, like torches thrown into the straw?
D MajorD              A augmentedA    G+G            D MajorD
If no one asks, then no one answers: That's how every empire falls