Gabriel Kahane - Friends Of Friends Of Bill

      [Verse 1]
C#m            B                   F#
Those neighbor kids, they meant no harm.
C#m              B                      F#
Came home from church to find a three-alarm.
C#m      B                     F#
To my sister’s, she gave us a key.
C#m              B                 F#
Three years, one room, two kids and me.

[Chorus]
B11                  F#
But he would lift my burden—
E                  C#m
All the power, the comfort

In his name.
B11                    F#
    Is that so much to ask—
E                 C#m
To believe and be unashamed?

[Verse 2]
C#m            B                           F#        E
Stay after church, for friends of friends of Bill.
C#m            B          F#              E
I tell the story of my son, his need, the pain to kill.
C#m            B                      F#        E
How I saved all the money, a box in a drawer.
C#m                B                     F#        E
How I’d give it to him; knew what it was for.

[Chorus]
B11                  F#
But he would lift my burden—
E                  C#m
All the power, the comfort

In his name.
B11                    F#
    Is that so much to ask—
E                 C#m
To believe and be unashamed?

[Bridge]
E
The visits get harder.
Ab                      E
He lowers his eyes, and every time
         C#m
They get darker.
B                                    F#
I show him the pictures drawn by his kid.
E                        C#m                       F#
How do you learn you can smother someone with your love?
E                         C#m          F#
Isn’t loving at all in this world hard enough?


C#m            B11                 F#m
Those neighbor kids, they meant no harm.