That's How Every Empire Falls chords by John Prine

Intro:

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Verse 1:

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

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Verse 2:

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

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Verse 3:

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

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Verse 4:

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

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Verse 5:

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