The Charm of Innocence Momus
I was born with the ch[C]arm of innocence[D]
On my [A]back like a [Bb]cross
[C]Thorns upon my fore[D]head
[A]Round my neck I [Bb]wore it
Sometimes a [C]rabbit's claw
Sometimes an [E]albatross
It be[A]gan at a school that turned [C#m]boys into gentlemen
[G]Then turned them on to [Bm]debauchery
I was [A]forced to my knees in [C#m]front of these gentlemen
[G]If I refused they would [Bm]torture me
On [A]Sundays I'd stalk the Bo[C#m]tanical Garden
And [G]under my uniform s[Bm]omething would harden
Whe[F]never I passed a girl of my own [E]age
Or [A]did it begin with au [C#m]pair girls from Germany
[G]Paid by the hour to look [Bm]after us?
[A]Did it begin with that [C#m]first opportunity
To [G]corner a stranger with [Bm]nakedness?
[A]Maybe the clinical [C#m]way they undressed me
[G]Stayed with me and d[Bm]eeply distressed me
[F]I think, at heart, I'm something of a [E]prude
I was [C]born with the charm of [D]innocence
On my [A]back like a [Bb]cross
[C]Thorns upon my fore[D]head
[A]Round my neck I [Bb]wore it
Sometimes a [C]rabbit's claw
Sometimes an [E]albatross
[A]Then at eighteen I [C#m]decided I wanted
To [G]be a commercial pho[Bm]tographer
I r[A]ented a studio [C#m]down by the docks
Which I [G]shared with a friendly [Bm]pornographer
I [A]photographed models in [C#m]fluorescent light
Whose [G]veins were so blue and whose [Bm]breasts were so white
I ass[F]umed, like the moon, women were blue [E]cheese
[A]When I left home I al[C#m]ready had five years
Of [G]self abuse under my [Bm]belt
I [A]found certain women who'd [C#m]let me try anything
[G]Just to find out how it [Bm]felt
In some [A]garish hotel room with [C#m]vile decoration
The [G]wallpaper witnessed my [Bm]first pollination
[F]The paisley patterns witnessed an [E]abortion
I was [C]born with the charm of [D]innocence
On my [A]back like a [Bb]cross
[C]Thorns upon my fore[D]head
[A]Round my neck I [Bb]wore it
Sometimes a [C]rabbit's claw
Sometimes an [E]albatross
In the [A]army they taught me to [C#m]share the abuse
That I'd [G]kept up 'til then to my[Bm]self
There's [A]nothing like killing
For [C#m]coaxing a shy boy of [G]twenty-one out of his [Bm]shell
In the [A]dark continent with a [C#m]peace-keeping force
I fell [G]in with a bunch of Al[Bm]gerian whores
[F]And promised them I'd try and keep in [E]touch
[B]We met up again in the [Ebm]eighteenth arrondisement
[A]I remember them [C#m]well
Their [B]lank stringy hair and their [Ebm]big bulbous noses
Their [A]unmistakable [C#m]smell
I'd app[B]roach all the ugliest, [Ebm]seediest jerks
And [A]ask them to keep a young[C#m] model in work
[G]Some men, thank Christ, don't discriminate at [F#]all
I was [C]born with the charm of [D]innocence
On my [A]back like a [Bb]cross
[C]Thorns upon my fore[D]head
[A]Round my neck I [Bb]wore it
Sometimes a [C]rabbit's claw
Sometimes an [E]albatross
I will [A]pass my old age by a [C#m]pale two-bar fire
[G]Patiently waiting to [Bm]die
[A]Twitching the lace as the [C#m]schoolgirls go past
[G]Tracing a page of Ba[Bm]taille
And [A]if you catch sight of my [C#m]secondhand coat
[G]Leaving behind it a faint [Bm]whiff of goat
Remember [F]both of us are naked [E]underneath
I [B]thought it would end with the [Ebm]first obscene phone call
The [A]second professional [C#m]kill
But [B]somehow detached from my [Ebm]actual behavior
This [A]innocence burdens me [C#m]still
[B]Up in the attic I [Ebm]pick up the brush
P[A]aint in the crow's feet, [C#m]paint out the blush
The [G]face this portrait is of is still [F#]capable of
The [G]face this portrait is supposed to be of is still [F#]capable of
The [G]face this [G/F#]portrait [G/E]is of [G/F#]is still [F#]capable of (Paint out the blush of shame)
The [G]face this [G/F#]portrait is supp[G/E]osed to be [G/F#]of is still [F#]capable of (Paint out the blush of shame)
The [G]face this [G/F#]portrait [G/E]is of [G/F#]is still [F#]capable of (Paint out the blush of shame)
The [G]face this [G/F#]portrait is supp[G/E]osed to be [G/F#]of is still [F#]capable of (Paint out the blush of shame)
The [G]face this [G/F#]portrait [G/E]is of [G/F#]is still [F#]capable of (Paint out the blush of shame)
The [G]face this [G/F#]portrait is supp[G/E]osed to be [G/F#]of is still [F#]capable of (Paint out the blush of shame)
End on G.
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