Birdland Chords

Verse 1: B A B His father died and left him a little farm in New England A All the long black funeral cars left the scene B And the boy was just standing there alone B Looking at the shiny red tractor A B Him and his daddy used to sit inside A And circle the blue fields and grease the night B A It was if someone had spread butter on all the fine points of the stars B A 'Cause when he looked up they started to slip B A Then he put his head in the crux of his arm B A B A And he started to drift, drift to the belly of a ship B A B A Let the ship slide open, and he went inside of it B A B A And saw his daddy 'hind the control board streamin' beads of light B A He saw his daddy 'hind the control board B A And he was very different tonight B A B A B A B A 'Cause he was not human he was not human

B A Little boy's face lit up with such naked joy B A That the sun burned around his lids and his eyes were like two suns B A White lids, white opals, seeing everything just a little bit too clearly B And he looked around and there was no black ship in sight A B No black funeral cars, nothing except for him, the raven A And fell on his knees and looked up and cried out B A B A No, daddy, don't leave me here alone B A B A Take me up, daddy, to the belly of your ship B A B A Let the ship slide open and I'll go inside of it B A B A B A B A Where you're not human you are not human B A B A But nobody heard the boy's cry of alarm B A Nobody there 'cept for the birds around the New England farm B A And they gathered in all directions, like roses they scattered B A And they were like compass grass coming together into the head of a shaman bouquet B A Slit in his nose and all the others went shooting B A And he saw the lights of traffic beckoning like the hands of Blake B Grabbing at his cheeks, taking out his neck A B All his limbs, everything was twisted and he said A I won't give up, won't give up, don't let me give up B A I won't give up, come here, let me go up fast B A B A Take me up quick, take me up, up to the belly of a ship B A B A B A B A And the ship slides open and I go inside of it, where I am not human B A I am helium raven and this movie is mine B A So he cried out as he stretched the sky B A Pushing it all out like latex cartoon, am I all alone in this generation? B A We'll just be dreaming of animation night and day B A And won't let up, won't let up and I see them coming in B A Oh, I couldn't hear them before, but I hear 'em now B A B A It's a radar scope in all silver and all platinum lights B A Moving in like black ships, they were moving in, streams of them B A And he put up his hands and he said, "It's me, it's me B A I'll give you my eyes, take me up, oh now please take me up B A I'm helium raven waitin' for you, please take me up B A Don't leave me here!" The sun, the sign, the cross B A Like the shape of a tortured woman, the true shape of a tortured woman, B A The mother standing in the doorway letting her sons No longer presidents but B prophets A They're all dreaming they're gonna bear the prophet B A He's gonna run through the fields dreaming in animation B A It's all gonna split his skull B A It's gonna come out like a black bouquet shining B A Like a fist that's gonna shoot them up B A Like light, like Mohamed Boxer B A Take them up up up up up up B A Oh, let's go up, up, take me up, I'll go up B A I'm going up, I'm going up B A Take me up, I'm going up, I'll go up there B A B A Go up go up go up go up up up up up up up B A Up, up to the belly of a ship B A Let the ship slide open and we'll go inside of it B A B A B A Where we are not human, we're not human Verse 2: B A Well, there was sand, there were tiles B A The sun had melted the sand and it coagulated B A Like a river of glass B A When it hardened he looked at the surface B A B He saw his face And where there were eyes were just two white opals, two white A opals B A Where there were eyes there were just two white opals B A And he looked up and the rays shot B A And he saw, raven comin' in B A B A And he crawled on his back and he went up B A Up up up up up up B A B A B A B B A B A B A B A Sha da do wop, da shaman do way, sha da do wop, da shaman do way B A B A B A B B A B A B A B A Sha da do wop, da shaman do way, sha da do wop, da shaman do way B A B A B A B Sha da do wop, da shaman do way B A B We like Birdland