Jackson Browne — Before The Deluge Chords
Before the Deluge — Jackson Browne
Intro: (play 2 times)
|G |C |G |C |
|G |C |G |D |
G
Some of them were dreamers
C G
And some of them were fools
Em C G C G
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
G
With the energy of the innocent
C G
They were gathering the tools
Em C G
G
They would need to make their journey back to nature
Em G
While the sand slipped through the opening
C G
And their hands reached for the golden ring
Em C D
D
With their hearts they turned to each other's heart for refuge
Em C G C G
In the troubled years that came before the deluge
G
Some of them knew pleasure
C G
And some of them knew pain
Em C G
G
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered
G
And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
C G
They went flying around in the rain
Em C G
G
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
Em G
And in the end they traded their tired wings
C G
For the resignation that living brings
Em C
And exchanged love's bright and fragile glow
D Em D
For the glitter and the rouge
Em C G C G
And in the moment they were swept before the deluge
G C G C
Now let the music keep our spirits high
G C
And let the buildings keep our children dry
G D G C
Let creation reveal it's secrets by and by
G C
By and by...
G C G D
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky
G
Some of them were angry
C G
At the way the earth was abused
Em C G
G
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
G
And they struggled to protect her from them
C G
Only to be confused
Em C G
G
By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour
Em G
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
C G
In the naked dawn only a few survived
Em C D
D
And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge
Em C G
G
Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge
G C G C
Now let the music keep our spirits high
G C
And let the buildings keep our children dry
G D G C
Let creation reveal it's secrets by and by
G C
By and by...
G C G D
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky
Coda:
|G |C |G |C |
|G |C |G |D |
Repeat coda and fade
Transcribed by Gerard Koot (Amsterdam, Netherlands) — may 2007
email: gerardkoot@hotmail.com
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I've added a sample fingerstyle arrangement of the intro. The intro is not played like
the original recording but it's a way of playing
the intro violin melody combined with chords.
The vertical lines (|) above the high e string indicate the quarter note beats of the measures.
Tuning: EADGBe
Intro:
G C G C
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
e|—————————————————|———3—————————5———|—7—————8—7—5—————|———3—————————5———|
B|—3—————3—————3—5—|—————5———————————|—————8———————8—5—|—————5———————————|
G|—————4———————————|———————5———5———5—|———7—————————————|———————5———5———5—|
D|———5———————5—————|—————————————————|—5———————5———————|—————————————————|
A|—————————————————|—3———————3———————|—————————————————|—3———————3———————|
E|—3———————3———————|—————————————————|—————————————————|—————————————————|
G C G
C/E D/F#
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
e|—7—————8—7—5—————|———3—————————5———|—7—————7———————7—|—5—————5—————————|
B|—————8———————8—5—|—————5———————————|—————8———————8———|—————7———8———10——|
G|———7—————————————|———————5———5———5—|———7———————7—————|———7—————9———11——|
D|—5———————5———————|—————————————————|—5———————5———————|—————————————————|
A|—————————————————|—3———————3———————|—————————————————|—5———————7———9———|
E|—————————————————|—————————————————|—————————————————|—————————————————|