On The Parish
Released in 1996 by Kitchenware Records
Transpose
INTRO (x2)
F9
Gm
VERSE 1
F9
I am the spirit of this
Gm
ruptured
age
F9
I come to tell you how you
Gm
can be saved
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
G7
F9
You know those ancestors you
Gm7
ridicule?
F9
Well, they were safe because they
Gm7
followed
rules
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
G7
D7
One evening you felt hopeful so a
Cm
child was born
D7
To gross unpleasantness in
Cm
ever-changing
D7
forms
VERSE 2
F9
It’s time to build a kind of
Gm
village
here
F9
Amid the concrete and il
Gm
literate, grimy fear
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
G7
You
F9
won’t be hearing from the
Gm
showbiz
crowd
F9
Who win elections with their
Gm
decomposing bites of sound
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
G7
D7
A school, a hospital, a
Cm
nice dry home?
D7
Whatever else you want,
Cm
find it on your
D7
own
CHORUS 1
You’ll
Bb7
all be starving when your
Ebmaj7
hair is white
Un
Bb7
less you’re lucky or you
Ebmaj7
end your life
You’re
Fm
on the parish with the
C/E
drunk, novelist and
Fsus4
milkmaid
VERSE 3
F9
You’ll nail up roofbeams with a
Gm
silent
type
Who’ll set
F9
fire to your legs and then
Gm
giggle at the sight
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
G7
F9
He’ll call the police on a
Gm7
mobile
phone
And say “My
F9
right to fun is threatened, must I
Gm7
face this on my own?”
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
Gm
A7
Cm
Eb
G7
D7
They’ll mutter “yes” to him and
Cm
you’ll sigh, “Friend,
D7
Comb your hair, the camera’s
Cm
about to record your
D7
end”
CHORUS 2
You’ll
Bb7
all be starving when your
Ebmaj7
hair is white
De
Bb7
vout Rotarian and
Ebmaj7
Trotskyite
On the
Fm
parish with the
C/E
rock musician and the
Fsus4
vicar
INTERLUDE
C#maj7
You’ll use computers because you can
C#maj7
To talk to some dick-nailer in Japan
C#maj7
Who will unveil conspiracies
C#maj7
But not one golden syllable’s for
D5
free
(motherfucker!)
VERSE 4
F9
Like the air raid dodgers
Gm
hid in caves
F9
And the immigrant hordes
Gm
on the crusades
Gm
Gui
A7
ded by vi
Cm
sions
Eb
and
Gm
my
A7
stic
tra
Cm
di
Eb
tions
G7
F9
The need for burial to
Gm
fight the plague
F9
The heretic and fornicator
Gm
made to change their ways
Gm
Sweet
A7
retri
Cm
bu
Eb
tion, town
Gm
square
A7
ex
Cm
ecu
Eb
tions
G7
D7
That all kept order in a
Cm
natural
way
And you’ll
D7
make it so again your
Cm
children for to
D7
save
CHORUS 2 / OUTRO
You’ll
Bb7
all be starving when your
Ebmaj7
hair is white
So
Bb7
count your duties for you
Ebmaj7
have no rights
You’re
Fm
on the parish and the
C/E
time for tantrums is
Fsus4
over