Mortal City chords by Dar Williams
Verse 1
Am
She nev er should have rented this
apartment in the Mortal City
G
The cold comes though every
Am
crack she puts her hand up to
Bb
The radiator's broken,
so she has to use electric heat.
Am
G
And tonight was the first
Verse 2
date with the brother
Am
of the guy she worked next to
He lived a couple streets away
C
He listened, he had things to say
Bb
She asked him up for dinner
sometime
Sometime was tonight
Am
Verse 3
The radio gave updates on the ice storm
while she made the dinner
They said, from all the talk,
you shouldn't drive or even walk
F
And this just in,
C
G
Am
G
we're asking everyone to turn off their power
F
Dm
G
They need it at the hospital.
Verse 4
Am
She ran around pulling plugs,
then she called him up
Maybe now they shouldn't meet,
F
he said that he would brave the streets
She met him at the door with
C
G
a blanket and a candle
Am
Saying, I heard it on the radio,
C
F
Dm
I had to turn my power off.
Gsus4
G
Verse 5
Am
He said you're not the only one,
the streets were dark tonight,
It was like another century
Bb
With dim lamps and candles lighting up the icy trees
Am
and the clouds and a covered moon.
Verse 6
Am
She said what kind of people
make a city
Where you can't see the sky and
you can't feel the ground?
Verse 7
Am
I tell you something,
I have this feeling that this city's dying
He said, it's not dying it's
the people who are dying
Bb
She said, yes, yes I think the people
Am
are dying and nobody cares.
Verse 8
Am
We had all this technology our dreams
were bold and vague
F
C
G
And then one city got bad planners,
Am
G
F
one city got the plague.
Dm
G
Am
Verse 9
He asked why did you move here? She said,
for the job
F
For the job and I've been so lonely here,
C
G
so lonely
Am
G
There's no one I can talk to,
F
Dm
you know I don't even know your brother.
G
Verse 10
Am
He smiled and said,
sometimes at night I walk out by the river
The city's one big town,
the water turns it upside down
F
People found this city because
C
G
they love other people
Am
They want their secretaries,
G
F
they want their power lunches.
Dm
G
Verse 11
Am
And think about tonight,
I heard the same newscast you did
I unplugged everything,
I looked out the window
F
And I think the city heard,
C
G
Am
I watched as one by one the lights went off
G
F
So they could give their power
Dm
to the hospital
G
Verse 12
Am
They ate in silence while
she thought this over,
They sat together in a dark
room in the Mortal City
Bb
Shifting in their blankets so they wouldn't
get spaghetti on them.
Am
Verse 13
Then came the awkward moment after dinner,
what to do,
The ice was still falling,
the streets were still dangerous
Bb
The cabs were not running and
Verse 14
this neighborhood was not the greatest.
Am
They both looked at the space
where a couch would've been
She felt her stomach sink,
Verse 15
she felt like she could hardly think
Am
She said, I never should have rented this
apartment in the Mortal City
The cold comes through
eve crack I put my hand up to
C
Bb
The radiator doesn't work,
Am
I have to use electric heat.
Verse 16
Am
That settled it, they would both
sleep in her bed
It was a matter of survival.
Verse 17
Am
She brought out t- shirts,
sweatshirts, sweatpants, socks, hats
If there was ever any thought of what would
happen in that bed tonight
There was no question now
They could barely move
C
Bb
They were wrapped up like ornaments waiting
for another season.
Am
Dm
Am
Verse 18
They lay in bed,
they listened to the pelting ice
He said my brother's not a bad guy,
he's just quiet
I wished you liked this city
Verse 19
She said, maybe I do.
Am
I think I have a special kind
of hearing tonight
I hear the neighbors upstairs
C
F
I hear my heart beating
C
G
Am
I hear one thousand hearts beating
G
F
Dm
Gsus4
G
at the hospital
Am
And one thousand hearts by
Bb
their bedsides waiting
Am
Saying that's my love
Bb
in the white gown,
Verse 20
Am
We are not lost in the Mortal City
Outro 1
We are not lost in the Mortal City
Am
C
Mortal City
Dar Williams
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