You Know Its Dark When Atheists Start To Pray Chords
by Jesse Malin
You Know Its Dark When Atheists Start To Pray by Jesse Malin is a moderately challenging guitar song played in the key of Am. It uses the chords Am, G, F, E and C. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.
Verse
Am
Joey was a man from the other side
G
Came across the sea for a better life
F E
When he got close they made him change his name
Am
Push along a cart through the market place
G
Keep it in your heart when you're getting spades
F E
But that was so many years ago
Pre-Chorus
C F
I lived in many places, I've fallen out of graces
C G
I tried to feed the fire for so long
C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C G C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way
Verse
Am
A Nietzsche mustache and a peasant's hat
G
Five hungry kids in a water flat
F E
Maybe I'll make a little more today
Am
A new world dream and some old school pride
G
He couldn't make a meet so he took his life
C E
I saw a photograph and made memories in my mind
Pre-Chorus
C F
I've fallen out of graces, I've ran so many races
C G
I tried to breathe the fire for so long
C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C G C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way
C F C G C F C G
Verse
C
Well he was on the blacklist in '53
F
And he talked about the conspiracy
Am G
He said the next war is gonna blow us all away
C
I played in churches and I prayed in bars
F
A young kid with a sad guitar
Am G
To get close I had to go far away
C
Well I became a drifter
F
Sent postcards to my sister
Am G
And I can hear her smile even when I'm far away
C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C G C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way
Verse
C
Well I drank with kings and danced with whores
F
On mountain tops and distant shores
Am G
But you made me feel like someone I wished to be
C
I tried to wear my father's clothes
F
I planted seeds that didn't grow
Am G
With a handful of thorns I thought that I was free
C
Worked in a bank, drove a diesel van
F
Even Sonny Wortzik had a plan
Am G
Do your time and get out of society
C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C G C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way
Verse
C
Now you're sitting in an office, you've never seen the world
F
Gonna blame it on the government or a girl
Am G
But there's somewhere else you know you'd rather be
C
Scratching off the numbers in a liquor store
F
Dreaming of picking up a '44
Am G
Tell me more about your fantasy
C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C G C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way
C F C G C F C G
Verse
C
From Spanish Harlem to Ditmas Park
F
A lonely game of court and spark
Am G
I wrote a song, I figured it's the only way
C
And the girls from school all married stiffs
F
With a flat screen and couple kids
Am G
And they say a prayer in their own little way
C
Well a friend of mine became a priest
F
And we lost another in the Middle East
Am G
Well, you know it's dark when atheists start to pray
C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C G C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way
Verse
C
Boxes in the corner neatly stacked
F
Parts of me, paper and wax
Am G
For a headline day to ride in that Cadillac
C
And when it's over and I've had my fill
F
They're gonna put my body up on Cypress Hill
Am G
Near Houdini for the final disappearing act
C
Hey man, where you going
F
Up town the river's rolling
C G C
The sun comes, I'll be on my way
C
Hey man, whatcha doing
F
All along the road to ruin
C G G
You know it's dark when Atheists start to pray
Verse
F C G
From the fox holes to the quarter
C F C
Got your mojo workin'
G C F C
Or whatever you believe in, all your voodoo
G C F C
Well, the river runs deep and the river runs wide
Outro
F C G C F C G C
F C G C F C G C
F C G C F C