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Before The Deluge

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Gmajor

90BPM

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1/62

Tempo 80 BPMVol

Sound:

Position

Step 1 / 62Position: 3

1 index2 middle3 ring4 pinkyO openSpace = play/pause

Before the Deluge – Jackson Browne live at No Nukes with David Lindley
[Intro] 
(play 2 times)
|      G|      C|       G|       C|
|      G|      C|       G|       D|
[Verse 1]
GSome of them were dreamers
CAnd some of them were Gfools
Who were Emmaking plans and Cthinking of the futuGreC  G  
With the Genergy of the innocent
They were Cgathering the Gtools
They would Emneed to make their Cjourney back to GnatureC  G  
While the Emsand slipped through the Gopening
And their Chands reached for the Ggolden ring
With their Emhearts they turned to each Cother's heart for rDefugeEm  G  D  
In the Emtroubled years that Ccame before the GdelugeC  G  
[Verse 2]
GSome of them knew pleasure
And Csome of them knew Gpain
And for Emsome of them it was Conly the moment that GmatteredC  G  
And on the Gbrave and crazy wings of youth
They went Cflying around in the Grain
And their Emfeathers, once so Cfine, grew torn and GtatteredC  G  
And in the Emend they traded their Gtired wings
For the Cresignation that Gliving brings
And eEmxchanged love's bright and Cfragile glow
For the Dglitter and the rougeEm  G  D  
And in the Emmoment they were Cswept before the GdelugeC  G  
[Chorus]
Now let the music keep our Gspirits highC  G  C  
And let the buildings keep our Gchildren dryC  
GLet creation reveal it's Dsecrets by and bGyC  
By and Gby...C  
When the Glight that's lost Cwithin us reaches the GskyD  
[Verse 3]
GSome of them were angry
At the Cway the earth was aGbused
By the Emmen who learned how to Cforge her beauty into GpowerC  G  
And they sGtruggled to protect her from them
COnly to be confGused
By the Emmagnitude of her fury Cin the final hoGurC  G  
And when the Emsand was gone and the Gtime arrived
In the Cnaked dawn only a Gfew survived
And in Emattempts to underCstand a thing so Dsimple and so hugeEm  G  D  
Believed that Emthey were meant to live Cafter the dGelugeC  G  
[Chorus]
Now let the music keep our Gspirits highC  G  C  
And let the buildings keep our Gchildren dryC  
GLet creation reveal it's Dsecrets by and byG  C  
By and Gby...C  
When the Glight that's lost Cwithin us reaches the GskyD  
[Coda]
|      G|      C|       G|       C|
|      G|      C|       G|       D|
|      G|      C|       G|       C|
|      G|      C|       G|       D|
|      G|     Am|      Bm|       C|
|      G|      C|       G|       D|
|G  
============================================================================
I’ve added a sample fingerstyle arrangement of the intro. The intro is not played like 
the original recording but it’s a way of playing
the intro violin melody combined with chords.
The vertical lines (|) above the high e string indicate the quarter note beats of the measures.
Tuning: EADGBe
Intro:
   G|   |   |   |     C|   |   |   |     G|   |   |   |     C|   |   |   |
e|-----------------|---3---------5---|-7-----8-7-5-----|---3---------5---|
B|-3-----3-----3-5-|-----5-----------|-----8-------8-5-|-----5-----------|
G|-----4-----------|-------5---5---5-|---7-------------|-------5---5---5-|
D|---5-------5-----|-----------------|-5-------5-------|-----------------|
A|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-----------------|-3-------3-------|
E|-3-------3-------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
   G|   |   |   |     C|   |   |   |     G|   C/E|   |   |     |   D/F#|   |   |
e|-7-----8-7-5-----|---3---------5---|-7-----7-------7-|-5-----5---------|
B|-----8-------8-5-|-----5-----------|-----8-------8---|-----7---8---10--|
G|---7-------------|-------5---5---5-|---7-------7-----|---7-----9---11--|
D|-5-------5-------|-----------------|-5-------5-------|-----------------|
A|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-----------------|-5-------7---9---|
E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

All chords in this song (8)

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Before The Deluge

by Jackson Browne

Lyrics & chords · Original key

Chords in this song · guitar

C/E

D/F#

Before the Deluge – Jackson Browne live at No Nukes with David Lindley

[Intro]

(play 2 times)

G C G C

| | | | |

G C G D

| | | | |

[Verse 1]

Some of them were dreamers

C G

And some of them were fools

Em C G C G

Who were making plans and thinking of the future

With the energy of the innocent

C G

They were gathering the tools

Em C G C G

They would need to make their journey back to nature

Em G

While the sand slipped through the opening

C G

And their hands reached for the golden ring

Em C D Em G D

With their hearts they turned to each other's heart for refuge

Em C G C G

In the troubled years that came before the deluge

[Verse 2]

Some of them knew pleasure

C G

And some of them knew pain

Em C G C G

And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered

And on the brave and crazy wings of youth

C G

They went flying around in the rain

Em C G C G

And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered

Em G

And in the end they traded their tired wings

C G

For the resignation that living brings

Em C

And exchanged love's bright and fragile glow

D Em G D

For the glitter and the rouge

Em C G C G

And in the moment they were swept before the deluge

[Chorus]

G C G C

Now let the music keep our spirits high

G C

And let the buildings keep our children dry

G D G C

Let creation reveal it's secrets by and by

G C

By and by...

G C G D

When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky

[Verse 3]

Some of them were angry

C G

At the way the earth was abused

Em C G C G

By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power

And they struggled to protect her from them

C G

Only to be confused

Em C G C G

By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour

Em G

And when the sand was gone and the time arrived

C G

In the naked dawn only a few survived

Em C D Em G D

And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge

Em C G C G

Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge

[Chorus]

G C G C

Now let the music keep our spirits high

G C

And let the buildings keep our children dry

G D G C

Let creation reveal it's secrets by and by

G C

By and by...

G C G D

When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky

[Coda]

G C G C

| | | | |

G C G D

| | | | |

G C G C

| | | | |

G C G D

| | | | |

G Am Bm C

| | | | |

G C G D

| | | | |

============================================================================

I’ve added a sample fingerstyle arrangement of the intro. The intro is not played like

the original recording but it’s a way of playing

the intro violin melody combined with chords.

The vertical lines (|) above the high e string indicate the quarter note beats of the measures.

Tuning: EADGBe

Intro:

G C G C

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

e|-----------------|---3---------5---|-7-----8-7-5-----|---3---------5---|

B|-3-----3-----3-5-|-----5-----------|-----8-------8-5-|-----5-----------|

G|-----4-----------|-------5---5---5-|---7-------------|-------5---5---5-|

D|---5-------5-----|-----------------|-5-------5-------|-----------------|

A|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-----------------|-3-------3-------|

E|-3-------3-------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

G C G C/E D/F#

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

e|-7-----8-7-5-----|---3---------5---|-7-----7-------7-|-5-----5---------|

B|-----8-------8-5-|-----5-----------|-----8-------8---|-----7---8---10--|

G|---7-------------|-------5---5---5-|---7-------7-----|---7-----9---11--|

D|-5-------5-------|-----------------|-5-------5-------|-----------------|

A|-----------------|-3-------3-------|-----------------|-5-------7---9---|

E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

About Before The Deluge Chords by Jackson Browne

Learn how to play Before The Deluge by Jackson Browne with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “Before The Deluge chords”, “Before The Deluge guitar chords”, or “Jackson Browne Before The Deluge 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 Before The Deluge chords and for experienced players who want accurate Before The Deluge lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include G, C, D, Em, Am, Bm.

FAQ — Before The Deluge by Jackson Browne

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What key is "Before The Deluge" in?

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