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Wake Up John (Hanging Song) easy guitar chords by
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention

N/A
Verse 1
G

Wake up,

John, it's time to go

Come along,

John, don't be slow

Wake up,
F
C
Eb

John, it's time to go
G

A priest joins procession
Eb
F
G

just to help me kneel
Am
Bm

With a warner at my elbow and
Em
Eb

a mother at my heel
G

Marching in the morning
Eb
F
G

down a path I've lately seen
Am
Bm

I was sleeping in his garden,
Em
Eb

I stood in my dream
G

The echo of my heartbeat is
Eb
F

the beating of a drum
G
Am
Bm

And all the earth is singing
Em
Eb

with life's sweet hum
G

We found in soft silence,
Eb
F

shuffled through a door
G
Am
Bm

The place where life is taken for
Em
Eb

the let ter of the law
G

Shake the holy water,
C
D

set my lamp to guard,
C
Bm

Dying's very easy,
G
Bb
A

waiting's very hard.
C
Em
C

A rope is hanging from the roofside, which covers me,
Em
A

I thought to give it and a card could make the girls dream.
D

But now all is revealed,
F

standing there is just the man,
Em

My feet are on the trapdoor with
A

a rope around my hand
Ab
G

An d now the executioner is
F

shaking hands with me
G
Am
Bm

My duty I must carry out,
Em
Eb

you poor fellows says he
G

The strap is tied around my feet
F
G

and a bag upon my head
Am
Bm

And then the noose we separates
Em
Eb

the living from the dead
G

Shake the holy water,
C
D

summon up the dead
C
G
Bb
A

Dying's very easy, waiting's very hard
C
Em

Fairy whispers to me,
C

have you anything to say?
Em

My mouth is dry, my throat's tight,
A

I answer, drop away
D

Silence now surrounds me,
F

my heart is beating on
Em
A
Ab
G

The trap, the herd, the boot, all my life is still my own
Eb
F
G
Eb
F
G

Eb
F
G
Eb
F
G

Eb
F
G
Eb
F
G

Eb
F
G
Eb
F

G

They stand me in a corner with my
Eb
F
G

hands and feet still bound
Am
Bm

While the carpenters call for
Em
Eb

an explanation found
G

The rain has worked the timbers,
F

I hear the hangman say
G
Am
Bm

It's funny but it worked well,
Em
Eb

I tried it yesterday
Em

All is ended,
C

now they say it all goes nerdy over
Em

Your life's as good as ended
A

But I hear their voices waver
D

Once more the boat is shaken,
F

then again I hang in limbo
Em

With a gauntlet on the trapdoor
A

and my body stands on tiptoe
Ab
G

Shake the holy water,
C
D

summon up the guard
C
G

Dying's very easy,
Bb
A

waiting's very hard
G

They stand me in a corner with
Eb
F

my hands and feet still tied
G
Am
Bm

A warder holds onto the noose,
Em
Eb

the trapdoor opens wide
G

Is it magic or coincidence
F

that keeps me on the brink?
G
Am
Bm

It seems to work without me,
Em
Eb

would it kill me now I think?

Oh!
Em

Days I'm tired of living,
C

and I really want to die
Em

I was taken to the scaffold,
A

and I heard that my friend cry,
D

Leave, I'm truly sorry,
F

forgive these hands are fine
Em

Be true to both,
A

and I'll flood the job for the third and final time
Em

My life was spread that morning,
C

but it wasn't theirs to take
Em

To increase the votes that law requires
A
D
F
Em
A

A man should build a state
Ab
G

Shake the holy water
C
D

Summon up the gods
C
G

Dying's very easy
Bb
A

Waiting's very hard
Ab
G

Shake the holy water
C
D

Summon up the gods
C
G
Bb
A

Dine's very easy, waiting's very hard
A
Ab
G
C

Shake the holy water, summon up the
D

God
C
G

Dine's very easy,
Bb
A

waiting's very hard
A
Ab
G
C

Shake the holy water, summon up the
D

God
C
G

Dying's very easy,
Bb
A

waiting's very hard

you

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Chords
  • G

  • F

  • C

  • Eb

    6
  • Am

  • Bm

    2
  • Em

  • D

  • Bb

  • A

  • Ab

    4

Capo: 2

Transpose

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