This is the chords of We Americans by The Avett Brothers on Piano, Ukulele, Guitar and Keyboard.
[Intro]
C G C
C G F
C G F
[Verse 1]
G C
I grew up with reverence for the red, white, and blue
F G C
Spoke of God and liberty, reciting the pledge of allegiance
G C
Learned love of country from my own family
F G C
Some shivered and prayed approaching the beaches of Normandy
G C
The flag waves high and that’s how it should be
F G C
So many lives given and taken in the name of freedom
G C
But the story’s complicated and hard to read
F G C G
Pages of the book obscured or torn out completely
[Chorus]
C G C
I am a son of uncle Sam
C G F C G F
And I struggle to understand the good and evil
C G C
But I’m doing the best I can
C G F C G F
In a place built on stolen land with stolen people
[Post-Chorus]
C G
Blood in the soil with the cotton and tobacco
G C
Blood in the soil with the cotton and tobacco
F G F
Blood in the soil with the cotton and tobacco
[Verse 2]
G C
A misnamed people and a kidnapped race
F G C
Laws may change, but we can’t erase the scars of a nation
G C
Of children devalued and disavowed
F G C
Displaced by greed and the arrogance of manifest destiny
G C
Short-sighted to say it was a long time ago
F G C
Not even two life times have passed since the days of Lincoln
G F
The sins of Andrew Jackson, the shame of Jim Crow
F G C G
And time moves slow when the tragedies are beyond description
[Chorus]
C G C
I am a son of uncle Sam
C G F C G F
And I struggle to understand the good and evil
C G C
But I’m doing the best I can
C G F C G F
In a place built on stolen land with stolen people
Am G C F
We are more than the sum of our parts
Am G C F
All these broken homes and broken hearts
Am G C F
God, will you keep us wherever we go?
Am G C F
Will you forgive us for where we’ve been?
G
We Americans
[Post-Chorus]
C G
Blood on the table with the coffee and the sugar
G C
Blood on the table with the coffee and the sugar
F G F
Blood on the table with the coffee and the sugar
[Verse 3]
G C
I’ve been to every state and seen shore to shore
F G
The still open wounds of the Civil War
G C
Watched blind hatred bounce back and forth
F G C
Seen vile prejudice both in the south and the north
G C
And accountability is hard to impose
F G C
On ghosts of ancestors haunting the halls of our conscience
G C
But the path of grace and goodwill is still here
F G C C C/B Am G
For those of us who may be considered among the living
[Chorus]
C G C
I am a son of God and man
C G F C G F
And I may never understand the good and evil
C G C
But I dearly love this land
C G F C G F
Because of and in spite of We The People
Am G C F
We are more than the sum of our parts
Am G C F
All these broken bones and broken hearts
Am G C F
God, will you keep us wherever we go?
Am G C F
Can you forgive us for where we’ve been?
G F
We Americans
G
We Americans
[Post-Chorus]
C G
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
G C
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
F C
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
G
Love
C G
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
G C
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
F C G
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
C G
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
G C
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
F C
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
G
Love
C G
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
G C
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory
F G F
Love in our hearts with the pain and the memory