F C Bb F
F C Bb F

F                      C
He caught a train from Alexandria
Bb                   F
Just a broken man in flight
F                           C
Running scared with all his devils
Bb                             F
Saying prayers all through the night
F                    C
But mercy can't find him
Bb                          F
Not in the shadows where he calls
F                        C
Forsaking all his better angels
Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

[Instrumental]
F C Bb F
F C Bb F

F                            C
The bells ring out on Sunday morning
Bb                       F
Like echoes from another time
F                     C
All our innocence and yearning
Bb                       F
And sense of wonder left behind
F                 C
Oh, gentle hearts remember
Bb                           F
What was that story his they lost
F                   C
When religion loses vision
Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

[Instrumental]
F C Bb F
F C Bb F

F                              C
He toasts his wife and all his family
Bb                           F
The providence he brought to bear
F                               C
They raise their glasses in his honor
Bb                           F
Although this union made 'em share
F                         C
Of a man that lives among them
Bb                           F
But still a stranger to them all
F                         C
For when a heart is never open
Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

[Instrumental]
F C Bb F
F C Bb F
F C Bb F
F C Bb F

F                           C
Lock the door and board the windows
Bb                    F
Put the people in the street
F                          C
It just my job he says I'm sorry
Bb                            F
And draws the jackels home to eat
F                        C
But at night he tell his woman
Bb                       F
I know I hide behind the laws
F                            C
She says you are only taking orders
Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

[Instrumental]
F C Bb F
F C Bb F

F                               C
A bitter wind blows through the country
Bb                       F
A hard rain falls on the sea
F                         C
If terror comes without a warning
Bb                               F
There must be something we don't see
F                      C
Well, fire begets this fire
Bb                           F
Like torches thrown into the straw
F                        C
If no one ask and no one answers
Bb                      F
That's how every empire falls

[Outro]
F C Bb F
F C Bb F