Chords
The Mercy Seat

Key: A

Introduction:

Am         Em                                                                            Am                                                                                                    Em  
                  It all began when they took me from my home and put me on
                                                        Am                                                                                            Em                                                                              Am              Em  
Death Row,                      a crime for which I'm totally innocent, you know.
Am                                            Em                                                 Am                                              Em  
          I began to warm and chill                    to objects                              and their fields,
Am                                                                    Em                                      Am                                                                      Em  
          a ragged cup, a twisted mop,                    the face of Jesus in my soup,
Am                                                    Em                                              Am                                                                      Em  
          those sinister dinner deals,              the meal trolley's wicked wheels,
Am                                                         Em  
          a hooked bone rising from my food,
Am                                                                                      Em  
          and all things either good or ungood.
          Am                                                                                                                                    E  
                        And the mercy seat is waiting,              and I think my head is burning,
C                                                                                                                                              G                                                                                                                                 Bb  
          and in a way I'm yearning to be done with all this weighing of the truth.
          An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,
                                                                                                             F                                                                                                    Am      Em      Am      Em  
          and anyway I told the truth, and I'm not afraid to die.
     Am                                                                                                         E                                                                                                                                 C  
                     I hear stories from the chamber, Christ was born into a manger,
                                                                                                                                                                  G  
          and like some ragged stranger he died upon the cross.
                                          Bb  
          Might I say it seems so fitting in its way,
                                                                                                                F                                                                                                                              AmEm  
          he was a carpenter by trade, or at least that's what I'm told.
Am                                                      Em                                                         Am                                              Em  
          My kill-hands tatooed E.V.I.L.                    across it's brother's fist,
Am                                      Em                                            Am                                                                                         Em  
          that filthy five! They did nothing to challenge or resist.
        Am                                                                                                                                                 E  
                     In Heaven His throne is made of gold,
                                                                                                                                  C  
          the ark of His Testament is stowed,
                                                                                                                                                  G  
          a throne from which I'm told all history does unfold.
                             Bb  
          It's made of wood and wire, and my body is on fire
F                                                                                                      Am  
          and God is never far away.
                                                                                                          E                                                                                                                                                      C  
          Into the mercy seat I climb, my head is shaved, my head is wired,
                                                                                                                                  G  
          and like a moth that tries to enter the bright eye,
                                  Bb  
          I go shuffling out of life, just to hide in death a while,
F                                                                                         Am  
          and anyway I never lied.
                                                                                                                                             E  
          And the mercy seat is waiting,              and I think my head is burning,
C                                                                                                                                            G                                                                                                                              Bb  
        and in a way I'm yearning to be done with all this weighing of the truth.
          An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,
                                                                                                             F                                                                                                    Am  
          and anyway I told the truth, and I'm not afraid to die.
                                                                                                                                                  E  
          And the mercy seat is burning,              and I think my head is glowing,
C                                                                                                                                      G                                                                                                                                    Bb  
          and in a way I'm hoping to be done with all this twisting of the truth.
          An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,
                                                                                                                                        F                                                                                                 Am  
             and anyway there was no proof, and I'm not afraid to die.
                                                                                                                                                     E  
          And the mercy seat is glowing,                    and I think my head is smoking,
C                                                                                                                                      G                                                                                                                         Bb  
          and in a way I'm hoping to be done with all these looks of disbelief.
          A life for a life, and a truth for a truth,
                                                                                                                             F                                                                                                      Am  
          and I've got nothing left to lose, and I'm not afraid