Thrasher Chords - Neil Young






'Thrasher' by Neil Young.
from 'Rust Never Sleeps' LP (1979).

C
They were hiding behind hay bales,
          F               C 
They were planting in the Full Moon,
               C/B      Am7               F   G
They had given all they had for something new,
        C  
But the light of day was on them,
           F                C
They could see the thrasher coming,
        C     C/B        Am7             F    G   
And the water shone like diamonds in the dew.

F              G
And I was just getting up,
   C                       F 
To hit the road before its light,
                   G           C    Cmaj7 Cmaj7 C 
trying to catch an hour on the sun,
F                        G 
When I saw those thrashers rolling by,
        C          C/B       Am7    Am/C
Looking more than  two lanes wide,
      Dm7                          G
I was feeling like my day had just begun.

          C 
Where the eagles glide descending,
           F             C 
There's an ancient river bending,
         C        C/B      Am7     Am7/G  F             G
Down the timeless gorge of changes where sleeplessness awaits,
  C
I searched out my companions,
         F               C
who were lost in crystal canyons,
         C       C/B      Am7     Am7/G       F            G  
When the aimless blade of science slashed the pearly gates,

F                      G                     C               F 
It was then I knew I'd had enough, burned my credit card for fuel,
F                       G                 C    Cmaj7 C
Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand,
       F                     G                    C        C/B   Am7   Am7/G 
With a one-way ticket to the land of truth and my suitcase in my hand.
      Dm7                                   G
How I lost my friends I still dont understand.

C
They had the best selection,
          F                C
They were poisoned with protection,
          C       C/B       Am7     Am7/G
There was nothing that they needed, 
F               G 
nothing left to find.
          C
They were lost in rock formations,
   F                    C 
Or became park bench mutations,
           C         C/B        Am7      Am7/G           F        G
On the the sidewalks and in the stations,      they were waiting, waiting.
F                  G
So I got bored and left them there,
          C                   F
They were just dead weight to me,
F               G                 C    Cmaj7 Cmaj7 C  
Better down the road without that load,
F                           G
Bring's back the time I was eight or nine,
      C                  Am7   Am7/G 
I was watching my Mama's TV,
            Dm7                             G    
It was that great Grand Canyon rescue episode.
         C
With the vulture glides descending,
      F               C  
On an asphalt highway bending,
        C         C/B     Am7 Am7/G  F            G 
Through libraries and museums,       galaxies and stars.

         C
Down the windy halls of friendship,
       F                   C 
To the rose clipped by the bullwhip,
    C        C/B   Am7       Am7/G      F               G  
The motel of lost companions waits with heated pool and bar.
F               G
But me, I'm not stopping there,
        C              F 
Got my own row left to hoe,
F            G                    C    Cmaj7
Just another line in the field of time.

F                               G 
When the thrashers come I'll be stuck in the sun,
         C            Am7      Am7/G 
Like the dinosaurs in shrines,
         Dm7                                   G
But I'll know the time has come to give what's mine.

Phew!