Tabbed by nilsus 

Belle & Sebastian - Nobody's Empire 

 
Capo on 5th fret. (Easiest way to play it...) 
Transpose +5 for original without capo 


Intro: C  G  Am  F    x4 

C 
Lying on my bed I was reading french 
          Am        G            F  C 
With the light too bright for my senses 
C 
From this hiding place, life was way too much 
         Am      G              F  C 
It was loud and rough round the edges 
      G                     F         
So I faced the wall when an old man called 
        G                   F    C 
Out of dreams that I would die there 
       G                      F 
But a sight unseen, you were pulling strings 
         G              F  C 
And you had a different idea 

C 
I was like a child, I was light as straw 
         Am       G      F   C 
When my father lifted me up there 
C                     
Took me to a place where they checked my body 
    Am       G           F   C 
My soul was floating in thin air 
   G                      F 
I clung to the bed, and I clung to the past 
      G                    F    C 
And I clung to the welcome darkness 
            G                          F 
But at the end of the night, there's a green green light 
           G              F  C 
It's the quiet before the madness 
             Dm                      
There was a girl that sang like the chime of a bell 
      F                                               C                      G 
She put out her arm and she touched me when I was in hell      when I was in hell 

C 
Someone sang a song and I sang along 
         Am       G            F    C 
Cause I knew the words from my childhood 
C 
Intellect, ambition they fell away 
      Am       G          F   C 
They locked me up for my own good 
      G                     F 
But I didn't mind cause the silence was kind 
         G             F   C 
And you spoke to me in whispers 
                G                       F 
There was the sound of the wind in the cold cold dawn 
         G           F   C 
And the quiet hum of business 
        Dm 
Let me dangle a while in this waiting room 
        F                                         C                         G 
I don't need to go I don't need to know what your doing           what your doing 


C   G   Am   D/F#   F    F    C    G   x2 

C                                              Am       G        F   C 
Lying on my side you were half awake and your face was tired and crumpled 
C                                               Am    G         F   C 
If I had a camera I'd snap you now cos there's beauty in every stumble 
        G               F 
We are out of practise we're out of sight 
        G               F  C 
On the edge of nobody's empire 
       G                    F 
If we live by books and we live by hope 
          G                   F   C 
Does that make us targets for gunfire? 

C 
Now I look at you you're a mother of two 
          Am    G   F  C 
You're a quiet revolution 
C 
Marching with the crowd singing dirty and loud 
        Am        G    F  C 
For the people's emancipation 
      G            F 
Did I do ok, did I pave the way 
      G                    F  C 
Was I strong when you were wanting 
       G                      F       
I was tied to the yoke with a decent bloke 
         G               F   C 
Who was stern but never daunting 
        Dm 
And he told me to push and he made me feel well 
        F                                           C                        G 
And he told me to leave that vision of hell to the dying        oh to the dying 

C   G   Am   D/F#   F    F    C    G   x2 

C