What It Is chords by The Eastern

SimplifiedC · G · Am

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Verse 1
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Well, they found her on a hillside,
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winter of 46
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Copper came upon her,
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wondered what is this
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Baby left with nothing,
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but life left to live
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Well, ain't much to speak of,
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but this is what it is
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What it is, what it is
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Oh, this is what it is
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Oh, life is what it is
Well, her mother came from nothing
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Kept it all her days
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Spent her nights drinking
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Finding comfort in the haze
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Sold herself to soldier sailors
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Mostly Yanks and Meigs
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Far away from home,
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drunk and looking for some kicks
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She'd look across the harbor,
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frigates rolling in
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She could feel the filth upon her,
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crawling up her skin
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She'd look upon the water,
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think this is all there is
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Well, ain't much to speak of,
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but this is what it is
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What it is, what it  is
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Oh, this is what it  is
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Oh, life is what it is
Well, she found herself pregnant,
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proppin' up the public buy
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The war was slowly endin',
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she wasn't movin' very far
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She gathered up her courage
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an d let the baby go
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She lifted up the guard
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and hoped that he would know
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They named the baby Dawn
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after the time that she was found
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Dawn, she started crying,
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it was an elemental sound
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The copper  here was kind,
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but he never lasted very long
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Like every smile cast upon her,
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it was here and it was gone
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But he left behind a cross on her forehead,
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a  salty Irish kiss
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He said, you wished it luck,
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but life is what it is,
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what it  is, what it  is
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Oh, this is what it is
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Oh, life is what it is
Well, foster homes across the country,
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everyone a bruise
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They put electrodes on her young head,
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there was nothing much to lose
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They told her she was crazy,
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locked her up within state care
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She was beaten, she believed them,
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and her eyes became a stare
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When my grandmother found her,
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rescued her at just 14
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She said, you can make a life with me,
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don't thought it was a dream
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Well, grandmother told her she was safe,
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and yeah, she could be harmed
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She would never be set upon,
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she would never be alone
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She told her, hold your head up,
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make them call you mess
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Well there's not much to hang on to,
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but let them know you're this
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What it  is, what it  is
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Oh, this is what it is
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Oh, life is what it is
When Dawn turned 16
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she had a baby of her own
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She married early
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and she felt like she was home
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But her husband  took her home
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and scared himself within his car
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She felt her life was over
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and she hadn't made it very far
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She gave the baby up
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to her rich family from the south
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So this is life she thought
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there was never any doubt
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She carries a hole within her heart
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Believed that this is all there is
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It  ain't much to speak of
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But this is what it is, what it is, what it is
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Oh, this is what it is
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Oh, life is what it is
Well, she traveled and she rambled
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across the country in the sea
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She was looking out for something,
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something she could be
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Well, she met a modern man,
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he was tall and he was fine
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He had nothing to his name,
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but that she didn't mind
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They made love in the moonlight
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on the West South Island shore
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They conceived a red -haired baby
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she would want for nothing more
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But the man, he had no courage,
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he could never just stay still
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He left her all alone,
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Grandma said those men, they will
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She always said there
was good there, though,
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and it was that part that she missed
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She said, ain't much to speak of,
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but this is what it is
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What it is, what it  is
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Oh, this is what it  is
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Oh, life is what it is
Well, many years later,
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the baby slowly grew
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Carried his father's name,
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it was a name he didn't know
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He stopped and asked his grandma,
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his mother's maiden name
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She told him that her name
was love
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and her heart, it was the same
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Well the boy felt proud to know her,
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his mother she was true
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She never ever faltered,
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she carried that love right through
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Every storm and tragic ending,
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it was just another start
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She never knew compassion,
but she knew the
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strength within her heart
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Well the story he could carry,
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like a warm gentle bliss
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Well, ain't much to speak of
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but this is what it is,
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what it is, what it is
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Oh, this is what it  is
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Oh, life is what it is