🎸 So To Speak chords by Sting

Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E)

Key: E

Difficulty: Intermediate

E  A  F#m  B

E                  D
They're seriously saying it's prolonging me life
     A             C#m
if I'll only submit to the surgical knife?
 B         E     A     E
but what are the odds, on a month or a week?
      A              C
when the betting shop's closing its doors, so to speak.

       Amaj7    B    Amaj7   B
When you're tied to a pump and a breathing machine
      Am7     Am       Am7    Am
with their X-rays and probes and their monitor screens
       Amaj7    B    Amaj7      B
and they'll wake you up hungry, saying "How do you feel?"
         Am7       Am     Am7    D7
and then you're stuffed full of pills and a barium meal.

E               D
Prolonging me life? Now that's some kind of joke
     A             C#m
I'd be laughing me head off and I'd probably choke
B         E         A      E
the spirit's still willing, but the rest of me's weak
      A           C
now the bets are all off and the prospects look bleak.

       Amaj7    B     Amaj7     B
When you're laid like a piece of old meat on the slab
      Am7       Am         Am7        Am
and they'll cut and they'll slice, and they'll poke and they'll jab
         Amaj7    B        Amaj7     B
and they'll grill ye and burn ye, and they'll wish ye good health
      Am7   Am      Am7    D7
with their radium chemo and God knows what else?

E                       D
Well you can't fault the science, though the logic is weak
     A        C#m
is it really an eternal life we should seek?
B         E     A     E
that ship has sailed, that ship has sailed
  A         B         E
that ship has already sailed, so to speak.

    Amaj7    B     Amaj7     B
Our mission is more than a struggle for breath
    Am7     Am    Am7     Am
for a few extra rounds in a fight to the death
    Amaj7    B      Amaj7     B
when our mission is love, and compassion and grace
     Am7       Am     Am7    D7
it's not a test of endurance, or a marathon race.

E              D
For love is the sabre, and love is the shield
A           C#m
love is the only true power we wield
B      E    A       E
an eternal love, is all you should seek
 A             B      C   Am C
That ship will be ready to sail, so to speak

F                    Eb
I hear what you're saying because I've heard it before
 Bb               Dm
but I'm afraid if I let what is past through my door
Bb         F   Bb
how long would you stay, a month or a week
               Gm  C    F
when that ship has already sailed, so to speak?

Bbmaj7        C       Bbmaj7      C
Should I settle for something that's safe on this Earth?
Bbm7      Bbm    Bbm7    Bbm
what would it profit me, what is it worth?
Bbmaj7        C      Bbmaj7   C
if I lose something precious, completely unique?
Bbm7      Bbm    Bbm7    Cm7
when it's only eternity's love we should seek.

F                    Eb
For when that ship sails, and the course has been set
 Bb                 Dm
and the wind's in the offing and the sails have been let
Bb         F       Bb
and the hatches are full, and the hull doesn't leak
             Gm  C    F
that ship has already to sail, so to speak.

F             Eb
I'm tired and fading and losing the light
 Bb               Dm
and I've no way to tell if it's day or it's night
Bb       F   Bb
follow your heart, it's the harbour you seek.

Bb              Gm
And this ship is ready to sail,
Bb           Gm
this ship is ready to sail,
Bb           Gm  C    F
this ship is ready to sail, so to speak...