Peter Hammill - The Comet, the Course, the Tail (chords)

Transcription by Cameron Taylor 18-nov-97Comments, corrections, etc. toThis tune uses a LOT of embellishment over the main chordal structureGood LuckDM7/C# = x4767xA6 = x02222

Intro: F# s/C# F# (octaves)

F#m E DThey say we are endowed with Free WillF#m E D- at least that justifies our need for indecision.F#m E DBut between our insticts and the lust to kill F#mwe bow our heads in submission.

They say that no man is an islandbut then they say our castles are our homes;it's felt the choice is ours, between peace and violence...oh, yes, we choose, alone?

D E D DM7/C# A6While the comet spreads its tail across the skyD E D DM7/C# A6 it nowhere near defines the course it flies, F#mnor does it find its own direction.

F#m E D Though the path of the comet be sure, F#m E Dits constitution is not, F#m E Dso its meaning is possibly more F#mthan the tracing of a tail

in one brief shot at glory.

F#m E DLove and peace and individuality,F#m E Dso order and society are man-made?F#m E DWar and hate and dark depravity, F#mor are we slaves?F#m E DChanneling aggressive energies,F#m E Dthe Death Wish and the Will to surviveF#m E Dinto finding and preserving enemies, E E-F#-E Dis that the only way we know that we're alive?

D - E D DM7/C# A6In the slaughterhouse all corpses smell the same, D- E D DM7/C# A6whether queens or pawns or innocents at the game;D - E D DM7/C# A6in the cemetery a uniform cloaks the graves F#mexcept for outward pomp and circumstance.

There is a time set in the calendarwhen all reason seems barely enoughto sustain all the shooting stars:times are rough.

I'm waiting for something to happen here,it feels as though it's long overdue:maybe a restatement of yesteryearor something entirely new.

D - E D DM7/C# A6And the knowledge that we gain in partD - E D DM7/C# A6always leads us closer to the very start, F#mand to the founding questions:Bm D/AHow can I tell that the road signed to hell F#mdoesn't lead up to heaven?E DWhat can I say when, in some obscure way, F#mI am my own direction?