Chords for Mercy Now

_ _ _ From our CD Mercy Now, _ Mary Gauthier.
So do the lyrics come first for you?
Do you sit down and are the lyrics born first?
Do you write the lyric and the music together?
Is it a simultaneous emotion for you?
Yeah, they come together usually.
The feeling comes, the experience comes first,
the emotional experience comes first,
and then the words and music come together.
So does a line or two happen first,
and then the vision of the song comes after that?
It comes one word at a time.
Yeah, it's like pulling teeth, one word at a time.
All right, let's talk about the song Mercy Now.
Okay.
Very _ powerful ideas, a lot of_
_ Let's just talk about just one verse in particular.
A lot of people have parent issues.
The idea that my father needs some mercy now.
The idea of _ forgiving each other and helping each other.
What were you trying to say as you were writing it?
Well, I think that_
It's hard to remember, but I think the basic emotion
or thought actually that I had when I was working on that
is that if I was to get what I deserve,
I would be in deep trouble.
_ _ _ And I felt like that was working for me
in terms of a personal thing,
and then I started thinking of it in terms of a national thing.
That if_
It works on the microcosm,
and then it seems to have worked on the [C#] macrocosm,
like the camera lens kept pulling back and it just kept working.
I kept doing the victory [C] dance around the hotel room
[G] when a verse came and it worked again and again,
and I didn't know it would.
So this was written essentially on the road?
I [G#] always write on the road.
[B] Was this a one-sitting song?
Yeah.
Did this [G] happen over a long period of time?
Yeah, I wrote it in [N] Canso, Nova Scotia,
at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival.
Right, right.
So this is just a one emotional thought that happened.
Yeah, it's a big blurt. _
It's a heck of a blurt, and it got a lot of airplay.
It's a very powerful song.
Thank you so much.
Well, let's go ahead and give it to the audience.
The title cut of her award-winning album,
beautiful piece of work.
I recommend everybody pick this thing up.
The album and the song called Mercy Now.
It's Mary Gauthier [E] on the Wood Songs, old-time [A] radio. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ Well, my father _ sure could use a little [D] mercy now _ _ _
_ _ _ [E] The fruits of his labor
Fall and rot slowly on [A] the ground _ _ _
_ _ _ _ His work is almost over
It won't be [Em] long
He won't be [D] around _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ My father, he could use some [A] mercy now _ _
_ [E] _ [A] _ _ And my brother, _ _ could use a little mercy [D] now
He's _ _ _ [E] a stranger to freedom
Shackled to his fear [A] and his [E] doubt
[A] The _ [D] _ _ [A] _ _ pain that he lives in
Is almost more than living will [D] allow _ _ _
_ _ And [E] our Lord, _ _ he could use some [A] mercy [D] now
[A] My _ [D] _ [A] _ _ church and my country
Could use a [D] little mercy now
As _ _ _ [E] they sink into a poison pit
This don't take forever to [A] climb [D] out
[A] _ _
_ [D] _ [A] _ They carry the weight of the faithful
_ [D] Follow them down _
_ _ [E] And I love my church and country
They could use [A] some [D] mercy now
[A] _ _
[D] _ [A] Every _ living thing
And my brother, he could use a little [D] mercy now
_ Only _ _ _ [E] _ the hand of grace can end the race
_ T'was [A] another mushroom cloud
_ People [D] _ [A] _ _
in power, they'll do anything
[D] To keep their crown
I _ _ _ [E] love life _ itself
And I love my church and country
And my brother, he could use [A] some [D] mercy now
[A] _ _ [D] And [A] _ _
my brother, he could use a little [D] mercy now
_ _ And _ _ [E] my brother, he _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ [D] _
[A] _ _ _ [D] _ [A] could _ _ _ _ _ use some [D] mercy now
And my brother, _ _ _ _ he could use some mercy now
[E] And every single one of us
Could use [A] some mercy [D] now
[A] _
Every [D] _ [A] _ [E] _ single one of [A] us
Could [D] use some [A] mercy [D] now
[A] _
_ [D] _ [A] _ _ [E] _ [A] _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ [F#m] _ [A] _ [D] _ _ _
[A] _ _ Beautiful
_ _ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _