Family Portrait chords by Radical Face

Chords
   D6  A   D   E   C#m  A6
e|-x---x---x---x---x----x--|
B|-2---2---3---0---5----2--|
G|-2---2---2---1---6----1--|
D|-0---2---0---2---6----2--|
A|-x---0---x---2---4----0--|
E|-x---x---x---0---x----x--|

Basically avoid the high E string.


Intro:
D6 A x3

Verse 1:
D                               D6
So we start with my father as a boy barely spoke a word of English
A

Fell in love from a distance.
E
He watched her working from the back fence
D                                              D6
He learned some words and some clever turns of phrase from his father's book of poets
A
She wasn't taken in that instant
E
But grew impressed with his persistence
D
They met each other out by moonlight
E
Made love in the nearby woods
A                               C#m
Then her folks became suspicious when her cycle broke that settled it
D
They stole away without their goodbyes
E
Got married in a foreign town
A
Made their way as best as they could
C#m                    D
Found jobs and settled down
                    E
And then time moved on

D6  A  (x2)

Verse 2:
D                        D6
I was born in a river of blood on sheets from the wedding day
A
The room was dark and the stench was thick
E
My father couldn't stand the smell of it
D                                D6
Mama died in the night cause the nearest doctor couldn't stem the blood loss
A
Father cried out on the back porch
E
My sister held me at the neighbor's house
D
Oh my there was a storm then
E
There was a flood of a different kind
A                               C#m                        D
Father's eyes were often vacant, but his hands were rarely quiet

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

A A6 D E

Bridge:
D                            E                             A
Father turned into a drinker, a dark bastard with a wooden heart
                              C#m
Sister learned to be a mother, before she never played another part
D                            E                            A
And I became a little terror, I lashed out at whatever's around
                                C#m                               D
Took some time before I settled, to find a mind that was somewhat sound
                   E                  A    D6  E
And like it always does, time marched on

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