Johnny Cash

The Mercy Seat(Chords)

Johnny Cash

Key: Am

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	        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                                                Am Em Am Em 
    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 to die. 

                                                         E 
    And the mercy seat is smoking,       and I think my head is melting, 
C                                                        G                                               Bb 
    and in a way that?s helping 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 I told the truth, but I?m afraid I told a lie. 

( Am E C G Bb F Am ) (3x)
	        

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