Family Portrait chords by Radical Face

Chords with lyrics

Chords
  D6D6 A augmentedA  D MajorD  E MajorE  C# minorC#m A major 6A6
e|-x---x---x---x---x----x--|
BB|-2---2---3---0---5----2--|
G+G|-2---2---2---1---6----1--|
D MajorD|-0---2---0---2---6----2--|
A augmentedA|-x---0---x---2---4----0--|
E MajorE|-x---x---x---0---x----x--|

Basically avoid the high E MajorE string.


Intro:
D6D6 A augmentedA x3

Verse 1:
D MajorD                D6D6
So we start with my father as a boy barely spoke a word of English
A augmentedA
Fell in love from a distance.
E MajorE
He watched her working from the back fence
D MajorD                       D6D6
He learned some words and some clever turns of phrase from his father's book of poets
A augmentedA
She wasn't taken in that instant
E MajorE
But grew impressed with his persistence
D MajorD
They met each other out by moonlight
E MajorE
Made love in the nearby woods
A augmentedA                C# minorC#m
Then her folks became suspicious when her cycle broke that settled it
D MajorD
They stole away without their goodbyes
E MajorE
Got married in a foreign town
A augmentedA
Made their way as best as they could
C# minorC#m          D MajorD
Found jobs and settled down
          E MajorE
And then time moved on

D6D6 A augmentedA (x2)

Verse 2:
D MajorD            D6D6
I was born in a river of blood on sheets from the wedding day
A augmentedA
The room was dark and the stench was thick
E MajorE
My father couldn't stand the smell of it
D MajorD                D6D6
Mama died in the night cause the nearest doctor couldn't stem the blood loss
A augmentedA
Father cried out on the back porch
E MajorE
My sister held me at the neighbor's house
D MajorD
Oh my there was a storm then
E MajorE
There was a flood of a different kind
A augmentedA                C# minorC#m            D MajorD
Father's eyes were often vacant, but his hands were rarely quiet

Sister learned to take her hits well
E MajorE
Both from life and the physical kind
A augmentedA                C# minorC#m           D MajorD
But I was never one to lie down, despite who picked the fight
          E MajorE
So we designed our hells

A augmentedA A major 6A6 D MajorD E MajorE

Bridge:
D MajorD              E MajorE               A augmentedA
Father turned into a drinker, a dark bastard with a wooden heart
               C# minorC#m
Sister learned to be a mother, before she never played another part
D MajorD              E MajorE              A augmentedA
And I became a little terror, I lashed out at whatever's around
                C# minorC#m                D MajorD
Took some time before I settled, to find a mind that was somewhat sound
          E MajorE         A augmentedA  D6D6 E MajorE
And like it always does, time marched on

Verse 3:
A augmentedA           A major 6A6
Six years later father died in the very same bedroom
D MajorD
Many said it was the grief that did it
E MajorE
I have to say it's cause he hung himself
A augmentedA                 A major 6A6
To be honest neither sister nor myself ever much regret his passing
D MajorD
But I admit it was a nice thing
E MajorE                      A augmentedA