The Curse Chords by Josh Ritter

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_ _ [Am] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ [Am] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ [F] He opens his [D] eyes, falls in love [Dm] at first [Am] sight with the girl _ in the [C] _
doorway
[F] What beautiful lines, [Dm] how full of life after [Am] thousands of years
What a [C] face to wake up to, [F] he holds back a sigh as [Dm] she touches his arm
[Am] She dusts off the bed where [C] till now he's been sleeping
[F] Under miles of stone, the [Dm] dried fig of his heart
[Am] Under scarab and bone, [C] starts back to its beating
[F] _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _
_ [Am] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
[F] She carries him home [Dm] in a beautiful boat
[Am] He watches the sea from a [C] porthole in stowage
[F] He can hear all she says [D] as she sits [Dm] by his bed
And [Am] one day his lips answer her [C] in her own language
The [F] days quickly pass, he loves [Dm] making her laugh
[Am] The first time he moves, [C] it's her hair that he touches
[F] She asks, are you cursed?
He [Dm] says, I think that I'm cured
[Am] Then he talks of the Nile [C] and the girls in bull rushes
[F] _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ [Am] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
[Am] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
[F] In New York he is laid [Dm] in a glass covered case
[Am] He pretends he is dead, people [C] crowd round to see him
[F] But each night she comes round [Dm] and the two wander down
[Am] The halls of the tomb [C] that she calls a museum
[F] Often he stops to rest, but [Dm] then less and less
Then [Am] it's her that looks tired, staying [C] up asking questions
He [F] learns how to read [Dm] from the papers that she [Am] is writing about him
Then he [C] makes corrections, it's his [F] face on her book
[Dm] Long more come along _ [Am]
families from Iowa, [C] Upper West Siders
Then [F] one day it's too much, he [Dm] decides to get up and his [Am]
chaos ensues
[C] He walks outside to find her, she's [F] using a cane
And her [Dm] face looks too pale, but she's [Am] happy to see [C] him
As they walk he supports her, she [F] asks, are you cursed?
[Dm] But his answer's obscured [Am] in a sandstorm of flash [C] hopes and rowdy reports _
[F] _ _ _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
[Am] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
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[Am] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _
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_ [F] _ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _
_ [Am] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _
Such [F] _ reanimation, [Dm] the tutu of the nation
[Am] He gets out of limos, [C] he meets other women
[F] He speaks of her fondly, their [Dm] nights in the museum
But [Am] she's just one more rag now, [C] he's dragging behind them
She [F] stops going out, she just [Dm] lies there in bed [Am] in her tails
And whatever [C] towns they are speaking
Then her [F] face starts to set, and her [Dm] hands start to fold
And one day the drought figure of her [C] heart stops its beating
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_ _ [Am] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _
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[C] _ Long [F] ago on the ship she [Dm] asked why pyramids
He said [Am] think of them [Am] as an [C] immense invitation
She [F] asked, are you cursed?
He [Dm] said, I think that I'm cured
[Am] Then he kissed her in the hope that she'd forget [C] that question _ _ _
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