Chords for Regina Spektor - "Ballad Of A Politician" | House Of Strombo

_ [Cm] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
_ [Cm] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ A [Cm] man inside a room is shaking [Cm] _ hands with [D] other men.
_ _ This [Eb] is how it [Ab] happens, _ our [G] carefully _ [C] laid plans.
[Cm] _ _ _ [Eb] Shake it, shake [Ab] it, baby.
Shake your ass out in that [Cm] street.
_ _ You gonna make them [Ab] scream someday.
You gonna make [Cm] it big.
_ You love so [Fm] deep, so tender, _ [Cm] your people and your [D] land.
_ _ You love [Eb] them till they [Ab]
can't recall _ who they [C] are again.
[Cm] _ _ Work [Eb] it, work [Ab] it, baby.
Work your [Bb] way around [Eb] that room.
_ _ [C] You're gonna [Eb] make it [Ab] big someday.
_ [G] You're gonna make [C] a boom.
[Cm] _ But I am, [Eb] but I am, [Ab] but I am _ _ [Bb] _ _ not a [Eb] _
[G] name.
[C] But _ [Eb] I am, [Ab] but I am [G] a carefully laid plan.
[Cm] _ _
Shake what your mama [Ab] gave you. _
[Bb] You know that it won't [Eb] last.
_ [G] _ _
[C] You're [Eb] gonna taste [Ab] the ground real soon.
[G] You're gonna taste the [Cm] grass. _
_ A man inside a [Fm] room is shaking [Ab] hands with [D] other men.
_ _ This [Eb] is how it [Ab] happens, _ _ [G] our world under [Cm]
command.
_ _ [Eb] Shake it, shake it, [Ab]
baby.
Shake [Bb] your ass out in that [Eb]
street.
[G] _ _ [Eb] You're gonna make us [Ab] scream someday.
[Bb] You're gonna make [Eb] us _
_ [G] _ weep.
[Eb] You're gonna make us [Ab]
scream someday.
_ [G] You gonna make it [C] big.
_ [Cm] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _
Politics is everywhere now.
This election has been in an unbelievable length.
You come from a place that is often talked about in these [N] debates.
I am.
What do you make of it?
Was this specific to anybody in particular or specific to a culture?
You know, this is actually an older song, but it actually, I don't know.
I think that's the cool thing about songs is that you just write them.
And then if _ they become like your friend through life,
then you can like lean on them or interact with them at different times.
When you need them more, perhaps.
Yeah, I feel like I need this song.
So I've been playing it in shows.
You know, I think about that stuff with my family and Soviet Union.
It's like in one way, _ we come from this absolutely oppressed,
crazy place where like insanity went on and like, you know.
Recently.
Yeah, recently, but also like, you know, on my grandparents level,
they graduated 12th grade and the next day World War II began.
And then they happened to be part of the 5% of their entire year
that survived, 5% of people of that year.
The legacy of that is _ almost a mountain that's too big to climb.
I know.
You can't even comprehend it.
And then _ boom, right into Stalin and living with all of that,
with the purges and, you know, and it's just like _ people came back
right into the Stalinism that was in full swing and he was murdering people.
And still, when I think of my family, there are all these good times.
My grandparents were always like, you know, they had friends
and we had this awesome family.
And even growing up in the Soviet Union, we were always having fun.
And I think when I panic really hardcore and become cynical, I just think, well,
if people could have these incredible connections and make art
and have these families and make this life for themselves
under an oppressive regime like that, then we just have to also stay positive
and keep it in mind that it's not the end of the world,
because people really do think, you know, it's not.
Even if you get a real idiot or an asshole in there,
it's not because people still have their own personal power to be good teachers
and role models and make friendships and have true love and have,
you know, all this good that they can give.
And I think