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Chemical Switches

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Beautiful song off of Andrew Bird's latest album "Are you Serious". To my ear it sounds
best played with barre chords with the C and Em frequently open. Amazingly, the track on
the album was recorded in a single take by Blake Mills on guitar - play around with hammer
on the A and E strings to emulate his wonderful playing style.
[Intro]
G(pluck the open low E string then Hammer on into a Barre G to sound like the recording)
[Whistling  Bit]
Am G F
G Dm Em
Am G F
G F C
[Verse]
AmI keep hearing a Gvicious rumoFr
GFrom the back rooms, to the Dmalleys, to the avenueEms
AmThat you lost your Gsense of humoFr
GAnd the first place you Flook is the soCles of your shoes
And I Amwatch these iGce fields meFlt into the sea
WaGrming you're oDmceans to cenEmturies
Will your Amsaline watGers briFng you back to me?
Oh the weGight is brFinging me tCo my knees
[Chorus]
AmChemical swiCtches thGrown in the dFark
All it tGakes is a Dmspark to beCgin
And Amcan you tell wChich is the Gone with a Fmark
That Gbleeds through the Dmclothes to the Cskin
[Whistling Interlude]
Am G F
G Dm Em
Am G F
G F C
[Verse]
AmToo GlonFg I keep seGarching the aDmlleys and Emavenues
But it sAmeems I'm dGoing it wFrong
For I've sGeen neither hFide nor haCir of you
[Humming/Singing Interlude]
Am G F
G Dm Em
Am G F
G F C
[Bridge]
And it's a shFort short wCalk from peGbbles to brFicks
From stoGnes back to stFicks
We're lowGering the boiling point
And as tiAmme goes Cby, gets haGrder to Ffix
It's a volGatile mFix, like hydGrogen and oxCygen
[Chorus]
AmChemical swiCtches thGrown in the dFark
All it tGakes is a Dmspark to beCgin

All chords in this song (6)

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Chemical Switches

by Andrew Bird

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

Beautiful song off of Andrew Bird's latest album "Are you Serious". To my ear it sounds

best played with barre chords with the C and Em frequently open. Amazingly, the track on

the album was recorded in a single take by Blake Mills on guitar - play around with hammer

on the A and E strings to emulate his wonderful playing style.

[Intro]

(pluck the open low E string then Hammer on into a Barre G to sound like the recording)

[Whistling Bit]

Am G F

G Dm Em

Am G F

G F C

[Verse]

Am G F

I keep hearing a vicious rumor

G Dm Em

From the back rooms, to the alleys, to the avenues

Am G F

That you lost your sense of humor

G F C

And the first place you look is the soles of your shoes

Am G F

And I watch these ice fields melt into the sea

G Dm Em

Warming you're oceans to centuries

Am G F

Will your saline waters bring you back to me?

G F C

Oh the weight is bringing me to my knees

[Chorus]

Am C G F

Chemical switches thrown in the dark

G Dm C

All it takes is a spark to begin

Am C G F

And can you tell which is the one with a mark

G Dm C

That bleeds through the clothes to the skin

[Whistling Interlude]

Am G F

G Dm Em

Am G F

G F C

[Verse]

Am G F G Dm Em

Too long I keep searching the alleys and avenues

Am G F

But it seems I'm doing it wrong

G F C

For I've seen neither hide nor hair of you

[Humming/Singing Interlude]

Am G F

G Dm Em

Am G F

G F C

[Bridge]

F C G F

And it's a short short walk from pebbles to bricks

G F

From stones back to sticks

We're lowering the boiling point

Am C G F

And as time goes by, gets harder to fix

G F G C

It's a volatile mix, like hydrogen and oxygen

[Chorus]

Am C G F

Chemical switches thrown in the dark

G Dm C

All it takes is a spark to begin

About Chemical Switches Chords by Andrew Bird

Learn how to play Chemical Switches by Andrew Bird with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “Chemical Switches chords”, “Chemical Switches guitar chords”, or “Andrew Bird Chemical Switches chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy Chemical Switches chords and for experienced players who want accurate Chemical Switches lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include C, Em, A, E, G, Am.

FAQ — Chemical Switches by Andrew Bird

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Yes. Tap any chord in "Chemical Switches" to instantly see an interactive guitar chord diagram with alternate fingerings.

Is "Chemical Switches" easy to play on guitar?

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What key is "Chemical Switches" in?

The chords for "Chemical Switches" show the original chord names (including C, Em, A, E, G, Am). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.