The Curse Chords by Josh Ritter

[Start]

[Intro]
F Dm Am C F Dm
■ ■  ■  ■ ■ ■ 
Am C F
■  ■ ■


[Verse]
             Dm  
He opens his eyes
                       Am   
Falls in love at first sight
              C      F      
With the girl in the doorway
               Dm   
What beautiful lines
              Am  
Heart full of life
                   C                            F 
After thousands of years what a face to wake up to
                Dm  
He holds back a sigh
                       Am
As she touches his arm ■ 
                  C                            F       
She dusts off the bed where 'til now he's been sleeping
               Dm   
Under miles of stone
                     Am   
The dried fig of his heart
                 C   
Under scarab and bone
                   F       Dm
Starts back to its beating ■ 
Am C                 F   
■  ■ She carries him home
               Dm  
In a beautiful boat
Am             C                             
He watches the sea from a porthole in stowage
                    F   
He can hear all she says
                   Dm 
As she sits by his bed
    Am                           
And one day his lips answered her
       C           
In her own language
F                    
The days quickly pass
                    Dm   
He loves making her laugh
Am                                            C      
The first time he moves it's her hair that he touches
F                      
She asks Are you cursed
                         Dm   
He says I think that I'm cured
Am                                         C          
Then he talks of the Nile and the girls in bull rushes


[Inst]
F Dm Am C F Dm Am C7
■ ■  ■  ■ ■ ■  ■  ■ 


[Verse]
F                     
In New York he is laid
Dm                     
In a glass covered case
Am                    
He pretends he is dead
C                             
People crowd 'round to see him
F                           
But at night she comes round
Dm                      Am                   
And the two wander down the halls of the tomb
C                      
That she calls a museum
F                     
Often he stops to rest
Dm                
Then less and less
     Am                       
Then it's her that looks tired
C                          
Staying up asking questions
F                    
He learns how to read
Dm                       Am                  
From the papers that she is writing about him
C                        
Then he makes corrections
F                        
It's his face on her book
Dm                        
More and more come to look


[Chorus]
Am            C   
Families from Iowa
      C         
Upper WestSiders
F                         
Then one day it's too much
Dm                  
He decides to get up
     Am              C                           
Then as chaos ensues he walks outside to find her
F                  
She is using a cane
Dm                         
And her face looks too pale
Am                        
But she's happy to see him
C                           
As they walk he supports her
F                      
She asks Are you cursed
Dm                       
But his answer's obscured
Am                C         
In a sandstorm of flashbulbs
          C        
And rowdy reporters


[Solo]
F Dm Am C7 F Dm Am C7
■ ■  ■  ■  ■ ■  ■  ■ 
F Dm Am C C7 F
■ ■  ■  ■ ■  ■
Dm Am C C7
■  ■  ■ ■ 


[Verse]
F               
Such reanimation
    Dm                 
The two tour the nation
   Am               
He gets out of limos
C                
Meets other women
   F                   
He speaks of her fondly
             Dm           
Their nights in the museum
          Am                         C                  
But she's just one more rag now he's dragging behind him
F                  
She stops going out


[Chorus]
         Dm               
She just lies there in bed
   Am                 C                      
In hotels in whatever towns they are speaking
         F                 
Then her face starts to set
        Dm                 
And her hands start to fold
         Am                 C                          
Then one day the dry fig of her heart stops its beating


[Solo]
F Dm Am C F Dm Am C7
■ ■  ■  ■ ■ ■  ■  ■ 


[Chorus]
F                   
Long ago on the ship
Dm            Am      
She asked Why pyramids
                                    C         
He said Think of them as an immense invitation
              F         
She asked Are you cursed
                     Dm  Am   
He says I think that I'm cured
               Am           
Then he kissed her and hoped
           C                   
That she'd forget that question


[Outro]
F Dm Am C F Dm
■ ■  ■  ■ ■ ■ 
Am C F
■  ■ ■