B# C F F We knew Rat Creek lead to a bigger stream and eventually the sea but we didn’t know quite where it came to be So we followed it up the woods past the creepy garage, past the salamander pond and we ended up standing on that old spooky graveyard We always thought the songs that we sang was stories to believe in we didn’t know the promises they kept was just words deceiving we couldn’t tell the truths from lies no more and that’s when trust dies you know and from that day we never drank the water out of Rat Creek no more We lived in the forest, we climbed the trees, we had wars against our enemies we lived for the day and when we grew up, we found heroes that shared our vision of stuff we tattooed arrows that will fly straighter under our skin because we thought if they shoot straight then we probably would win We always thought the songs that we sang was stories to believe in we didn’t know the promises they kept was just words deceiving we couldn’t tell the good from bad no more and that’s what cynicism is for and from that day we never drank the water out of Rat Creek no more

A A D This graveyard town wasn't built for me A E although I got to know your streets A D E E dark smoke and all the lights from the bridge lights in all colors and the fish and the sea and the factories But all the fireworks on new years eve hit me in the face that's when I started to bleed red snow on my tongue, my guitar on my back I felt like Jacques Brel, I felt like Jacques waiting for the bus lighting my cigarette rush Started sleeping on the kitchen floors started taking all these midnight walks get this hair right out of my face the world is an open stage all the pain all the colors they go down the drain you must drink it if you wanna keep being sane I played the churches and I played the punk clubs I played the prison and I played the crowded pups I played the streets, screamed out your name under the crowd, under the moon I was drunk, I was barely alive and soon my fingers bled I played the piano and I cried in my bed I played weddings and I was shit scared of it all I got my shit together and started to care and care and care and more But all the fireworks on new years eve hit me in the face that's when I started to bleed red snow on my tongue, my guitar on my back I felt like Jacques Brel, I felt like Jacques waiting for the bus lighting my cigarette rush D Get up on stage you have 7 minutes only E7 I know a story about a bird man and it is very lonely

A D E A? sorry man for taking time to answer you again I know Im such a lazy friend your last message really made me smile I’ve been thinking about that for a while I need to get a license to drive we could drive everywhere we’re going to France man, we’re going to Spain up the coast and stuff trying hard to breathe through our corona masks I know you bought a midi keyboard we can go tropic on those vibes all the sweaty french girls will scream out into the night smash the stage, never know why give you weird drugs and never face reality again my hair will fuck my face cause that’s how I roll I don’t need no bandana like that guy in Dire Straits to look cool you know I don’t need no hotel, no bar or no pool just give me a tattoo in every town we pass Bilbao, Bayonne and La Rochelle give me a kitchen floor and a blanket and I sleep fine on the way down we will meet all these cool bands we’ll be shitting our pants with anxiety we’ll be running the streets and I will be blaming you for a bag of oranges and what did you know? and what did you do? D E A D? and you disappear in the morning with your new found love Johnny from Paris with his pullover sweaters and cool taste in old black and white movies and that necklace with an octopus he got in Port Louis I will try to perform on my own but it will be a comedy of sadness an empty chair and an empty mattress oh the alcohol and the madness 20 years on the road looking for my long fingered partner your picture on the piano with a rose and my finger on the trigger every night I will do a cover of that song you wrote in the gas station in San Sebastian in 1991 I will scream out your name in the middle of the night, Every night I will scream out your name, in the middle of the night in the middle of Europe somewhere I will cry out your name in an empty parking lot A D E A I will settle down with a goat and a distillery machine in west ukraine broken hearted in a village known for its yearly pumpkin growing contest and the rest of my life D E A D I will do whatever it takes I will do whatever it takes, man I will do whatever it takes I will do whatever it takes to win that contest

F#m Bm E F#m In those last few desperate hours before midnight I'm heading out In those last few desperate hourse before night I feel like I lose my sense of belonging heading for the graveyard and moonlight shines to find me all alone out here in the dark A Bm E F#m You know I lost control just a moment ago but I never want it back when I feel my heart beat from my head to my feet only the night air could cut me some slack F#m Bm E F#m In those last few desperate hours before midnight I need to walk it off If you got some weed and stories to share we could go to our secret spot Bright lights make a big city but pine trees make me feel safe Distance is just a shred in space time but a trip the heart is unable to make A Bm E F#m You know I lost control just a moment ago but I never want it back when I feel my heart beat from my head to my feet only the night air could cut me some slack F#m Bm E F#m In those last few desperate hours before morning I wake up there were two men heading for the graveyard but only one man coming back

C G F F Life is short when you die at 24 and now these racist fuckheads try to blame immigration for some homophobes knife in your liver sometimes I wake up crying, shivering because you bled to death that night in the hospital Am F F G Can you hear from the other side of eternity my heart beat? If you could just feel what I'm feeling tonight then I'd be feeling alright 'cause you'd be feeling alive F but there's no turning back G nah you'll never be back C G F F It was you and me and Katrin almost ten years ago we worked to keep the youth clubs from shutting down in a torn apart society where everyone's afraid of each other there's 50 people on this tram but everyone's sitting alone Am F F G Can you hear from the other side of eternity my heart beat? If you could just feel what I'm feeling tonight then I'd be feeling alright 'cause you'd be feeling alive F but there's no turning back G nah you'll never be back F G And now you're alone again End on Am.

E B A B... and sometimes C# minor?? I don't know if this song sounds good on any other guitar I felt like we've grown to never be apart and when I sing, I sing in your tune and when I go to sleep I don't look at any old moon, I look at ours I slip and stumble all confused through the icy streets of Stockholm but I found what I've been looking for in an art exhibition by Victor Finnigan It was a mix of Lana Del Rey, Twin Peaks and the american whore Keep on running, keep on running to make sure You talked about the 20 yellow roses that were sent to your mother by Leonard Cohen to celebrate your birth and at night everyone was bleeding from their mouths they had lost their teeth and they were looking for drugs right under the table where we sat Security guards sent them lost into the darkness (here comes the C#) Out there is a light, and it will go out So I need to find it, and I need to find it now It will spark a brief relief with the sound of Lou Reed and the 5th avenue And I can sense the end of hurt but I can sense the end of you And riding dim light buses, running round deep lakes to match that haunting beat that my body seems to contain with that beat I heard from the congas in that sweaty little comic store bar Keep on banging to the sound of passing cars (C#) But I was happy on that hard cold floor where I spent the night You made me lose my hands with your song and surrender to that miracle on Neon Clown Avenue A small lit up greek fast food restaurant with fluorescent lights and french fries wrapped in wax paper I can't, I can't, I can't

Capo 2 A F#m E E I wanna walk through the woods at night I'm gonna be scared in the cold afraid and lonely in the snow but I wanna light a fire in that stove and let me be inspired, inspired by that glow E D A A of the stars at night as they're shining bright over you of the stars at night as they're shining bright just for you A F#m E E I need the dangers of the night Life is short, reality is fake and whatever you do it feels good to have made something I'm drawing creatures from my dreams write short, pointless stories in my notebook and read myself to sleep E D A A Under stars at night as they're shining bright over me A F#m E E Running from the modern world working 40 hours a week and stare into a screen until you die from anxiety and you never felt something you never felt something real, like: E D A A the stars at night as they're shining bright over you the stars at night as they're shining bright just for you

Your life is an adventure like Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the lost ark Your job is a dark dungeon filled with traps and treasure but it will fucking eat your heart Your life is a balance act between the girl you love in Siberia and a hateful nazi regime and you just stumble around confused getting shot at on their submarine Aint that so, doctor Jo Yea you know it’s true I know it would have been easier to be born with some social skills and a sense of this world all this anxiety never did you any good, did it, worrying about mistakes and growing old One day you learn hopefully not to be wasting your life on that shit and also not eat poisoned dates also snakes are not helping, but at least you try doctor Jones and I think that’s great Aint that so, doctor Jo Yea you know it’s true One day doctor Jones you be 80 years old and you will be looking back on all the amazing things that you did will your life be just a secret warehouse full of boxes of important relics and archeology? no you could still write a poem and you could write the most beautiful poem filled with romance, lust and grace and you know the most beautiful thing is the divine ark when it melts the fucking nazis face Aint that so, doctor Jo Yea you know it’s true

Capo 4th C Am F G You’ve been on my mind- and im just a couple minutes late You’ve been on my mind- I’m punching circles to catch the last train Constantly- I’m always loosing myself on these streets. But you’ve been on my mind- I know excuses won’t mean anything We met up in Hamburg - and your stomach was a bit upset We met up in Hamburg - it was your stress trying to win the be-et The night was warm - when you decided to just let it go When we met up in Hamburg - And with your voice you managed to control F G C Am F G oooooh - All those fears when you were standing there on the stage giving your everything Fighting back with every vibrant chord (Placing smiles within everyone C Am F G Your house in Berlin - I’m sorry my kitchen is a fucking mess In your house in Berlin - I still can feed you with some chilean ta-aste There’s so much going on - Is up to you to keep yourself in place and thunder hit town - Und ich bin glücklich wir sind schon wieder da hum. We met up with Jan - is it the weather or I like this town Yea We met up with Jan - In Nuremberg everyone seems so ni-ice We slept in Jans bed - And I just cant really get over it and we met up with Jan again- He said we have people everywhere F G C Am F G He said we have people everywhere He said we have people everywhere C Am F G There’s a smile in everything - it ain’t that simple to just say it like this There’s a smile in everything - But you will see one if you really try hard Bavarian summer nights - We were given in this space and time There’s a smile in everything - Stories that willl live in our guitars. F G C Am F G oooooh - All those fears when you were standing there on the stage giving your everything Fighting back with every vibrant chord (Placing smiles within everyone ————————————————————————————————————— You’ve been on my mind You’ve been on my mind Constantly But you’ve been on my mind F G C Am F G oooooh

DAGD This night or the night before that I don’t really know which night You had your 30th birthday but you were far so away So I’m sending this song to you my brother Roberto Andrés as a birthday gift to listen to now that you’re old DAGA I wanna follow you up on my squeaky bike wherever you go on the road tonight Underneath that bridge where we sat in the night who listens to the waves coming crashing now Noone plays guitar in the skate park now it shouldn’t be up to just you to make the city sound but noone does things like that noone records a whole album in a day on a bike ride but we did and I’m so glad we did I wanna follow you up on my squeaky bike wherever you go on the road tonight Remember how We met at that open stage remember all the times we played together you rocked your looper and I rocked my beautiful hair Now you’re rocking the streets of Berlin and the streets of Berlin is rocking you too I wish I had a rocketship to go to whenever I wanted to see you I wanna follow you up on my squeaky bike wherever you go on the road tonight I wanna go to the wave festival again out on Asperö island in the middle of the woods dance in the pitch black night, getting high, getting lost, getting sweaty and good and I wanna run through the streets of Fürth getting soaked in the rain and dying of stage freight I wanna sit with your grumpy cat in your bedroom and singing about that freedom light I wanna busk on that wooden bridge in bavaria and make cute tourist girls smile I wanna go the comic store for hours and hours because I never get bored I wanna make stupid films where we walk through parks singing with our guitars and I wanna wish you a happy birthday bro I wanna follow you up on my squeaky bike wherever you go on the road tonight

If you need it, you should come and take it well you could come and take it too If you want it, you should come and grab it you could come or make me blue I always feel when the night is dark my humpy bumpy anxious heart I'm always scared when the dogs start to bark and the moon is staring at the stars ooh moonshine ooo starlight oooh no time to waste It always hits me hard in my guts that feeling from when I was a kid corrupted by the wind in the willows floating down that river stream and you can never take that feeling out of me no matter how much you pay me and you can never take that river creature out of my brain If you need it, you should come and take it well you could come and take it too If you want it, you should come and grab it you could come or make me blue If you need me you know where to find me I'm out here looking at the moon If you need me just follow that river 'cause I'll be waiting for you ooh moonshine ooo starlight oooh no time to waste

E A F# B No child should never have to see land mines dressed as teddy bears moms and dads killed by dirty drinking water there's conflict on every border Corporations of the western world copyrights on seeds and medications while people are dying from treatable diseases privilieged assholes preach about Jesus making bombs that can destroy the whole world Poisoned rivers runs like veins through our planet wildlife traded for this months budget there's a disease in their heads I don't doubt it E B A B In fact I wish it's no treatable and I wish that you could die from greed and I wish I was drunk and didn't feel and I just wish that it wasn't for real E E E E E A F# B And my grandma is dying now she says she's wanna end it right now Put a needle right through her heart so she'll never have to feel again It's beyond our dignity to fade away in a hospital bed amputating organ after organ until there's just nothing left... E B A B Now I wish I was drunk in Havana or I wish I could travel back in time or I wish some god just gave me a sign or I wish that we could live as one I just wish that we could live as one

Every child is an artist I bet you were an artist creating silly things did dance and paint and sing but you taught yourself to fit in they told you don’t be weird you think too much, you feel to much go wipe away those tears You grew up and became so serious living only to get paid your boss said anyone can do this job do it well or go away You lost your sense of silliness you lost yourself somewhere if you do something too much it will become you and now you’re scared of doing things differently making a fool of yourself yet the life you settled with is making a fool of that silly kid you once were drawing unicorns on the back of electric bills doing a dance number in the grocery checkout line just for the neighbor girls thrill you gotta keep on running as fast as your feet can go just to say hello to someone you barely know bet your hair is shagging in your eyes badgers rule this street at nights the moon comes up every night and inspires you to sing the world is such a fucked up place don’t ever let it change your pace always be nice to strangers and be kind to yourself

C D G G Plagues will come, floods will rise wildfires are gonna paint the skies you look out the window and mistake airplanes for fireflies G C D G - D I miss the dark times, I need to turn off the alarm in my head now throw my phone into a hole and never get a new one go where police helicopters never gone before go where the wild rivers roar go where wild boars stares up to the sky for the comfort of stars, see them shine in your eyes now - the lights from your gps but the battery's out now and you're in the middle of the forest Be brave, get lost, search for the melody the stars are singing with the mountains and the fish and the sea draw silly creatures in your notebook because without you, they just can not be the story you make up in the night in the tent aren't worth any money C D G G so let it be a dark one, like when we rode our bikes to that beach down where turtles laid eggs after sundown and wild dogs chased each other in the sand and in the backstreets I remember your smile playing cards on the balcony, feeding homeless cats and how we got attacked in the alley back then they didn't have lights on the road from Zakinthos to Kalamaki, but I guess they have it now Fancy hotels where you can watch the world slowly die from a safe distance plastic lights in all colors that go on and off and on and off and wish you a merry christmas from the suburbs to the swamplands this land is now cursed soon the first will be the last and the last will be the first

D A Bm G We are one with the universe when we dive into the pool we’re just dust from exploding stars but I put on my dancing shoes and head downtown to meet strangers to feel the dangers of the night I head downtown to meet strangers to feel the dangers of the night Warm vibes slow beats lure me down to the ocean and a bar full of cats I see you dancing in orange Hey I haven’t seen you here before But I danced to this song I can’t decide if it’s happy or sad But I feel like it belongs in those backstreets behind the ocean when the tourists are gone there’s a mountain full of thistles and it wakes up to this song it’s a crocodile song it’s a warning someone comes here every winter to write a book and go off grid the beach is empty around midnight we said not to go here but we did and we lay down watching stars rise in our kingdom, island time one day the crocodile is gonna wake up and that’s the end of you and I we are one with the universe when we dive into the pool we’re just dust from exploding stars but dust don’t talk like we do quiet warm night beats from a distant bar bet they have coffee in the morning and I will play my guitar

Capo 5? Am E I can see you at an italian café playing piano for the men in mustaches and the ladies with the curly hair and sunglasses Long fingers hit the keys and the melody brings a smile to the businessmens face you come here every sunday to play and the call you Roberto Longfinger Roberto I can see you You don’t get enough money playing white keys that’s why you dress up for the night in a suit and gloves that don’t fit your long fingers they reach for a bottle of juice goes inside your jacket noone suspects a well dressed man you smile at the cashier and leave for the tram they call you Longfinger Roberto Outside the jazz club you meet a gang of thugs and the clarinet player from the swingband that used to play here before you He shouts at you ”Roberto you’re playing the wrong keys! You’re playing out of tune!” He shouldn’t have said that The knife in your back ends up in your hand under long finger command ”Roberto never plays the wrong keys!” Newspaper said it’s a dirty game of murder in the backstreets of this town but you play the black keys with confidence the next time that’s why they call you Longfinger Roberto that’s why they call you Longfinger Roberto