In my opinion, this is one of Sufjan's greatest songs to date. He really plays up the
structure of the song by placing the breaks in lines in the middle of each sentence. I'm
how it didn't end up on Illinoise, but glad we get it with the B-Sides.
Sufjan plays most of it on the banjo. During the intro, outro and verses, he'll often
a sixth with each Bb chord.
Capo 1st fret
Intro:
F - Bb - Dm - C
Verse 1:
F Bb
And the winter moves about
Dm C
Illinois, when my sister picks a fight with the Alexander
F Bb
Boy and my father locks the car
Dm CBb
by the store, still we figure out the keys and follow him once more
Chorus 1:
Bb F C
Oh my God. We see it on the floor
G Bb
The woman on the bed. The ankle brace she wore
FC
Stones and sled. It could've been some other
G Bb
The mind that knows itself has a mind to say the other
F C
But we run back, scratching at the door...
C
Scratching at the door
Trumpet solo.
F - Bb - Dm - C (x2)
Verse 2:
F Bb
If I'm hiding in the sleeves
Dm C
Of my coat when my father runs undressed
F
He's pointing at my throat
Bb
And my brother has a fit
Dm C
In the snow and the traffic stops for miles
Bb
We take him by the elbow
Chorus 2:
Bb F C
Oh my God. Shuffling in the floor
(Oh my God. No one came)
G Bb
The mind that knows itself is the mind that knows much more
(To ourselves. To carry us away)
F C
So we run back. Scrambling for cover
(Oh my God. No one came)
G Bb
The mind that knows itself has a mind to kill the other
(To ourselves. To carry us away)
F C
Oh my God. He left us now for dead
(Oh my God)
C F
He left us now for dead
Outro with Horns
F - Bb - Dm - C (x2)
Trumpet ends on F
