(Capo 1st fret)
     Dm C (x2)
                 Dm                                                C
          The ties that bind left you untied, the hair burned off your arms
                         Bb
          Behind a six-burner stove in a dirty white coat
                                  F                   C
               smelling of mirepoix and smoke

          Sick of driving, so you ride your bike across the bridge downtown
          Same age now your mother was the year your dad moved out

          The racoons come up from the river to eat the apples in your yard
          That fall from the tree and smell so sweet in the grass where they rot

                                                   F
                             How long's it gonna take
                                         C
                             For the pigeons to eat he clay?
                                                    Dm
                             How long you gonna wait
                                         C
                             Before coming after me with your hair untied
                            Bb
                             Eyes full of light like a stick from the fire

                                           F C      Bb          F
                                           Almost washed away
                                           Almost washed away
                                                                                C

          Wandering through another town between soundcheck and the show
          Over your shoulder, are those dreams or is that smoke?

          Cause everyone's got a story to tell and wants what they don't have
          Halfway between wonder and regret while the ice melts in your glass

          Swimming with her in the reservoir, your clothes piled up on a rock
          Before she dove to the bottom, before she asked you to count

                             How long's it gonna take
                             For the fish to swim away?
                             How long you gonna wait
                             In the driftless life, chickens and dogs
                             Both kids pullin' at your arm

                                           Almost washed away
                                           Almost washed away
                                                  *Interlude*    C Bb Am7 F C
                                                                             Dm C  Dm C C7

          The tall grass was thick as honey beside a river in Idaho
          Falling asleep in the back of a cab on your way to the airport

          Chewing on the inside of your mouth like your mother did
          Everything looks different now that you've had your own kids

          And her split ends filled the wooden brush she kept on the night stand
          The moon in the sky like a mule's eye
             swivelling between the trailer slats

                             How long's it gonna take
                             For the storm to cross the lake
                             How long you gonna wait
                             Like the trash in the park or a spider in the shower
                             Filling a jar with water for the flowers

                                           Almost washed away
                                           Almost washed away
                                                    *Outro*    C Bb Am7 F C
                                                                          Dm C  Dm C C7