Family Portrait chords by Radical Face

Chords
  D6 A  D  E  C#m A6
e|-x---x---x---x---x----x--|
B|-2---2---3---0---5----2--|
G|-2---2---2---1---6----1--|
D|-0---2---0---2---6----2--|
A|-x---0---x---2---4----0--|
E|-x---x---x---0---x----x--|

Basically avoid the high E string.


Intro:
D6 A x3

Verse 1:
D                D6
So we start with my father as a boy barely spoke a word of English
A

Fell in love from a distance.
E
He watched her working from the back fence
D                       D6
He learned some words and some clever turns of phrase from his father's book of poets
A
She wasn't taken in that instant
E
But grew impressed with his persistence
D
They met each other out by moonlight
E
Made love in the nearby woods
A                C#m
Then her folks became suspicious when her cycle broke that settled it
D
They stole away without their goodbyes
E
Got married in a foreign town
A
Made their way as best as they could
C#m          D
Found jobs and settled down
          E
And then time moved on

D6 A (x2)

Verse 2:
D            D6
I was born in a river of blood on sheets from the wedding day
A
The room was dark and the stench was thick
E
My father couldn't stand the smell of it
D                D6
Mama died in the night cause the nearest doctor couldn't stem the blood loss
A
Father cried out on the back porch
E
My sister held me at the neighbor's house
D
Oh my there was a storm then
E
There was a flood of a different kind
A                C#m            D
Father's eyes were often vacant, but his hands were rarely quiet

Sister learned to take her hits well
E
Both from life and the physical kind
A                C#m           D
But I was never one to lie down, despite who picked the fight
          E
So we designed our hells

A A6 D E

Bridge:
D              E               A
Father turned into a drinker, a dark bastard with a wooden heart
               C#m
Sister learned to be a mother, before she never played another part
D              E              A
And I became a little terror, I lashed out at whatever's around
                C#m                D
Took some time before I settled, to find a mind that was somewhat sound
          E         A  D6 E
And like it always does, time marched on

Verse 3:
A           A6
Six years later father died in the very same bedroom
D
Many said it was the grief that did it
E
I have to say it's cause he hung himself
A                 A6
To be honest neither sister nor myself ever much regret his passing
D
But I admit it was a nice thing
E                      A