On The Parish

Transpose
Year: 1996
Album: Grand Necropolitan

INTRO (x2)
F9 
 
Gm 
VERSE 1
F9 
I am the spirit of this  
Gm 
ruptured 
 
age
F9 
I come to tell you how you  
Gm 
can be saved
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
G7 
 
F9 
You know those ancestors you  
Gm7 
ridicule?
F9 
Well, they were safe because they  
Gm7 
followed 
 
rules
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
G7 
 
D7 
One evening you felt hopeful so a  
Cm 
child was born
D7 
To gross unpleasantness in  
Cm 
ever-changing 
 
 
D7 
forms
VERSE 2
F9 
It’s time to build a kind of  
Gm 
village 
 
here
F9 
Amid the concrete and il
Gm 
literate, grimy fear
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
G7 
 
You  
F9 
won’t be hearing from the  
Gm 
showbiz 
 
crowd
F9 
Who win elections with their  
Gm 
decomposing bites of sound
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
G7 
 
D7 
A school, a hospital, a  
Cm 
nice dry home?
D7 
Whatever else you want,  
Cm 
find it on your  
D7 
own
CHORUS 1
 
You’ll  
Bb7 
all be starving when your  
Ebmaj7 
hair is white
 
Un
Bb7 
less you’re lucky or you  
Ebmaj7 
end your life
 
You’re  
Fm 
on the parish with the  
C/E 
drunk, novelist and  
Fsus4 
milkmaid
VERSE 3
F9 
You’ll nail up roofbeams with a  
Gm 
silent 
 
type
 
Who’ll set  
F9 
fire to your legs and then  
Gm 
giggle at the sight
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
G7 
 
F9 
He’ll call the police on a  
Gm7 
mobile 
 
phone
 
And say “My  
F9 
right to fun is threatened, must I  
Gm7 
face this on my own?”
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
Gm 
 
A7 
 
Cm 
 
Eb 
 
G7 
 
D7 
They’ll mutter “yes” to him and  
Cm 
you’ll sigh, “Friend,
D7 
Comb your hair, the camera’s  
Cm 
about to record your  
D7 
end”
CHORUS 2
 
You’ll  
Bb7 
all be starving when your  
Ebmaj7 
hair is white
 
De
Bb7 
vout Rotarian and  
Ebmaj7 
Trotskyite
 
On the  
Fm 
parish with the  
C/E 
rock musician and the  
Fsus4 
vicar
INTERLUDE
C#maj7 
You’ll use computers because you can
C#maj7 
To talk to some dick-nailer in Japan
C#maj7 
Who will unveil conspiracies
C#maj7 
But not one golden syllable’s for  
D5 
free 
 
(motherfucker!)
VERSE 4
F9 
Like the air raid dodgers  
Gm 
hid in caves
F9 
And the immigrant hordes  
Gm 
on the crusades
 
Gm 
Gui
A7 
ded by vi
Cm 
sions 
 
 
Eb 
and 
 
 
Gm 
my
A7 
stic 
 
tra
Cm 
di
Eb 
tions 
 
 
G7 
 
F9 
The need for burial to  
Gm 
fight the plague
F9 
The heretic and fornicator  
Gm 
made to change their ways
 
Gm 
Sweet 
 
 
A7 
retri
Cm 
bu
Eb 
tion, town  
Gm 
square 
 
 
A7 
ex
Cm 
ecu
Eb 
tions 
 
 
G7 
 
D7 
That all kept order in a  
Cm 
natural 
 
way
 
And you’ll  
D7 
make it so again your  
Cm 
children for to  
D7 
save
CHORUS 2/OUTRO
 
You’ll  
Bb7 
all be starving when your  
Ebmaj7 
hair is white
 
So  
Bb7 
count your duties for you  
Ebmaj7 
have no rights
 
You’re  
Fm 
on the parish and the  
C/E 
time for tantrums is  
Fsus4 
over