Chords for The man from Vilna - עם ישראל חי

_ _ _ [F] _ _ _ _ [Bb] _
_ _ [Gm] _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _
[F] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ I _ _ _ _
[Dm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Eb] _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
met a man [Bb] last Sunday _ [Eb] who was on his way back home _
[F] from a wedding [Bb] in Chicago _ [Dm] and was traveling _ alone. _
_ [Eb] He said he came from Vilna, [Bb] a survivor I could tell, _ _ [Cm] and I helped him with his _ suitcase.
He [G] could not walk [F] very well.
_ _ A steward gave us [Bb] coffee as [Eb] we settled on the plane, _ _ [F] and I asked him [Bb] why he bothers.
At [F] his age, there'd be no blame. _ _
[Eb] He said no simcha is a burden, _
[C] though I [Bb] miss my dear late wife.
_ [Cm] And then he shared with me a story [G] that has changed my view [F] of life.
_ _ [Eb] _
[F] I remember [Bb] _ _ liberation, _ [Eb] joy and fear, _ _ _
_ _ [F] where to go and what [Bb] to do, and [Dm] how to leave the pain behind.
_ _ [Eb] My heart said, go to Vilna, [Bb] dare I pray [F] it once again, _ [Cm] for the chance to find a loved
one, [F] or perhaps a childhood friend. _
_ It took many [Bb] months to get there, from [Gm] the late spring to the [C]
fall, and [F] as I, many [Bb] others,
[Dm] close to 400 in all.
_ [Eb] And slowly there was healing, _ [Bb] darkened souls now mixed with light, _ _ [Cm] when someone _ proudly
cried out, [F] _
Simcha's toi gha'i is tonight. _ _
_ [D] We [Gm] danced round and round in circles, as [Cm] if the world had done no _ wrong, [Gm] from evening
until morning, [F] [Cm] filling up the shul [F] with song. _
[Gm] Though we had no secret toll, _ [Cm] to clutch close to our _ hearts, [Gm] in their place we held the
future [Eb] of a past so torn apart.
_ _ _ _ We _ _ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Gm] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Ebm] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ [F] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ ran as one _ [Bb] towards the shul, [Eb] our spirits, _ _ _ _ _
[F] and tore [Bb] apart the _ barricade, [F] in defiance
we would dance, _ _ but the scene before our eyes [Bb] shook us to the core, _ _ [C] _ scraps of [Eb] cedar bullet
holes [C] and _ bloodstains on [F] the floor. _ _ _
_ _ Turning to [Bb] the eastern wall, we looked on in despair, _ _ _ _ [F] there'd be no [Bb] scrolls to dance
with, [Dm] the holy ark was bare.
_ [Eb] Then we heard two children crying, [C] a boy and girl whom no one knew, _ _ [Cm] and we _ realized that
no children [F] were among us but those two.
_ _ [D] _ We danced [Gm]
round and round in circles, as [Cm] if the world had done no wrong, _ [Gm] from evening
until morning, _ [Cm] filling up the shul [F] with song.
_ [Gm] Though we had no secret toll, _ [Cm] to gather in our _ arms, in [Gm] their place we held those children
The [F] Jewish people [Eb] would live _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
on.
_ [F] Am _ _ [Eb] Yisroel Cha.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] We [Gm] danced round and round in circles, as [Cm] if the world had done no _ wrong, [Gm] from evening
until _ morning, [Cm] filling up the shul [F] with [D] song.
Though [Gm] we had no secret toll, _ [Cm] to gather [Eb] in our _ arms, in [Gm] their place we held those children
The [F] Jewish people would [Eb] live on. _
[Fm] Am _ _ [Eb] Yisroel Cha. _
_ [F] _ The [Eb] _ _ _ _
[F] _ Jewish _ [Eb] _ _ _ _
_ _ [Cm] _ _ people _ [Dm]
will _ _ _ _ [G] live _ _ on. _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _