When We Were Boys At School
Richard ThompsonVersion1
90
Chords in this song
Strum
D-DU-UDU
All he ever wanted to do was harm
All he ever wanted to be was cruel
At twelve years old Fate marked his brow
And he said, I have a mission now
But we laughed at his clothes
And the blackheads round his nose
When we were boys at school
Teachers spoke of Hannibal and Hector
Nimrod and Nietzsche were his fuel
Swastikas and pentagrams
Flourished from his tender hands
But we watched in the rain
As the bully beat him up again
When we were boys at school
And he said, my camouflage will hide me
Ill be grey as the world is grey
A thousand government corridors
Behind which of a thousand doors
Will I delegate and rule, o little boys at school
All he ever wanted to do was harm
All he ever wanted to be was cruel
And sometimes when the night is still
I can feel the gathering of his will
I can feel him flex the strings of power
And grope to his appointed hour
But we laughed at the dirt
And the frayed cuffs on his shirt
When we were boys at school
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Readable chord sheet for When We Were Boys At School by Richard Thompson
[Bm]All he [Em]ever wanted to do was [F#7]harm [Bm]All he [Em]ever wanted to be was [F#7]cruel At [Bm]twelve years [D]old Fate [A]marked his [Em]brow And he[Bm] said, I [D]have a [A]mission [Em]now But we [Gmaj7]laughed at his [F#m7]clothes And the [Gmaj7]blackheads round his [F#m7]nose When we were [B]boys at school Teachers spoke of Hannibal and Hector Nimrod and Nietzsche were his fuel Swastikas and pentagrams Flourished from his tender hands But we watched in the rain As the bully beat him up again When we were boys at school [Dm]And he said, my camouflage will hide me [Gm]Ill be [Dm]grey as the [Gm]world is [Dm]grey [Em]A thousand government corridors Be[Am]hind which [Em]of a [Am]thousand [Em]doors Will I [F#m]delegate and rule, o l[F#sus4]ittle boys at school [Bm]All he [Em]ever wanted to do was [F#7]harm [Bm]All he [Em]ever wanted to be was [F#7]cruel And [Bbm]sometimes [C#]when the [Ab]night is [Ebm]still I can [Bbm]feel the [C#]gathering [Ab]of his [Ebm]will I can [Bm]feel him [D]flex the [A]strings of [Em]power And [Bm]grope to [D]his ap[A]pointed [Em]hour But we [Gmaj7]laughed at the [F#m7]dirt And the [Gmaj7]frayed cuffs on his [F#m7]shirt When [C]we were boys at [C7]school