Nobody Wants You To Die - Chords, Lyrics and Origins
Origins
A collaboration between myself and Peter Birkett. This one is meant for a forthcoming album about the American civil war, which we are going to call 'Firebell in the Night'. Peter Birkett writes, "In the smokey darkness of the battlefield, a soldier’s thoughts turn to the carefree country life he knew before the war; a life of laughter and love – where nobody wants you to die."
Chords
C G7
I wish I was already home
C
Where the sounds of the country are all I can hear
F
And the straw-dust floats by
C
In the ever-blue sky
Dm7 F
And the guys take the shade of the oak tree
C
And have them a beer.
G7
It's much better than this,
C
For here there's just killing
F Dm7 F
I want that old country life,
C
With its laughing, and loving,
Dm7 F
Sowing and tilling,
C
Where nobody wants you to die.
Lyrics
I wish I was already home,
Where the sounds of the country are all I can hear
And the straw-dust floats by
In the ever blue sky
And the guys take the shade of the oak tree
And have them a beer.
It's much better than this
For here there's just killing.
I want that old country life
With its laughing and loving,
Sowing and tilling,
Where nobody wants you to die.
I wish I could ride that rode home.
It's a long dusty road with a smile at the end,
Where you walk around free
And you see what you see
And the girls take the shade of the willows
Along by the river bend.
It's much better than this
For here there's just killing.
I want that old country life
With its laughing and loving,
Sowing and tilling,
Where nobody wants you to die.
I don't even know which road home,
The sound of the gunfire is filling my ears
And the bullets fly by
In the smoky, dark sky
As we bury our dead and the living
Are dying with fear.
It's much better at home
For there it's just living.
I want my old country life
With its laughing and loving
And blessed forgiving
And nobody wants you to die.
Copyright © Peter Webster and Peter Birkett 2007