Chords for American Aquarium - “A Better South” (Live From Athens)

_ This next one is a song about my love for the South that I was born in and also _ _ my
distaste for the South I was born in.
Two of the greatest things in the entire
world come from the South.
That's music and food.
You'll never change my mind on
that.
I will go, I will die on that hill.
Food and music are the best things ever
to come out of the South, but as Southerners, someone who's born and raised here, I'm
not somebody who moved here for the scene.
I was born here.
I talk like it.
I act like
it.
I was raised by Southerners.
I can admit that there are problems with the
South.
I can admit that we have a long line of, putting it very, very casually,
_ missteps _ that a lot of people pretend to hide or like to gloss over or pretend
that they don't happen because none of us were alive when it happened.
_ And
that's the fucking problem.
We have to admit that there was a problem.
I'm not
asking you to feel bad for yourself or your family name or completely shun the
South.
I'm telling you just to openly _ admit that there's a problem that still
exists here.
Whether or not you care to admit it or not, there is.
I'm here to
tell you.
And this is a song I wanted to write about that.
I wrote this song last
year and I had zero idea that when this record came out May 1st of this year, how
_ real this song would get.
How real and how timely this song would get.
Usually a song needs
five or ten years.
The maturation process is a little bit longer than five months
before it starts really hitting home.
And this song is something I've always
wanted to say this.
It's about one of my favorite bands, another, another Athens
band, the Drive-By Truckers.
They, they put it better than anybody I've ever
heard put it.
They said it's the duality of the Southern thing.
And I think that's
great.
There's this dichotomy that exists in the South to where we are very, very
proud people who hate [B] admitting when [E] we're wrong.
We are cocky.
We're egotistical.
And rightfully so because we're fucking Southerners.
_ But there's also a bad part
of being Southerners.
There's, there's a history that no matter what you do, no
matter how good you do in your life, no matter how much you try to scrub that
slate clean, there's shit that we still have to account for as Southerners.
And
this is a song about that.
This is a song about wanting a better place, a better
home.
This is a place, this is a song called Better South.
And _ yeah.
_ _ I _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ [F#m] _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ [G] _ _ [D] _ _ _ was born in the shade [G] of a long [D]-leaved pine, _ _ the proud Southern [B] [A] son of [D] Caroline. _ _ _ _
_ I'm proud of who I am [G] and where [D] I'm from, _ _ _ but I ain't so proud of [A] how far [D] we've come.
_ _ _ _ On the backs of the poor these towns were built, _ _ _ and every ounce of pride has
a pound of guilt. _ _ _
_ _ There's a shadow here [G] looms [D] long and black.
_ _ It's always one step
forward [A] and two [D] steps back.
_ _ The [G] only _ dream _ _ that ain't [D]
worth having _ _ _ [G] is the one _ [Em] you [G] won't [A]
chase [B] down.
[A] _ _ They say [D] sing your song, boy, shut [G] your mouth. _
_ _ _ Oh, [D] but I [A]
believe [G] in a better [D] South.
_ _ [A] _
[G] _ _ _ [D] _ Yes, I [A]
believe [G] in a better [D] South. _ _ _
_ Down here we're still fighting [G] for all the wrong [D] reasons. _ _ _ _ _
Old men still defend [A] these [D] monuments to _ treason.
_ _ _ To the right side of history, we're always late.
_ _ _ Still arguing the difference [A] between [Dm] heritage and hate.
[D] _
_ The [G] only _ dream _ that ain't [D] worth _ having _ _ [G] is the one _ you won't [A] chase down. _
_ They [D] say sing your song, boy, shut your [G] mouth. _ _ _ _
Oh, [D] but [A] I believe [G] in a better [D] South.
_ [A] _ _ [G] _ _ [D] _
_ Yes, [A] I believe [G] in a [D] better South. _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ [Em] _ _ [G] _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ [F] _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [A] _
_ [G] _ _ [D] _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ [G] _ _ _ [D#] _ [E] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ Yeah, I'm sick and tired of [A] listening to daddy's _ [E] _ generation. _
_ _ The byproduct of war [B] and _ [E] segregation. _ _ _ _
_ Still thinking they can tell [A] us what [E] to do.
Who _ _ _ can live where [B] and who can [E] love who?
_ _ The [A] only _ dream _ that ain't [E] worth having _ _ _ [A] is the one [C#m] _ [F#] you _ [E] won't [B] chase _ down.
_ They say [E] sing your song, boy, [B] shut [A] your mouth. _
_ _ _ Oh, [E] but I [B]
believe [A] in a better [E] South. _ _ _
_ _ _ They say sing your song, [B] boy, shut [C#m] your mouth. _ _
_ _ [E] Oh, but [B] I believe [A] in a better [E] _ South.
_ [B] _ _ [A] _
_ [E] _ Yes, [B] I believe [A] in a better [E] _ South. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _