"The Mercy Seat" by Nick Cave and Mick Harvey
Performed by Johnny Cash

Am                     Em7             Am
It all began when they took me from my home
             Em7
And put me on Death Row,
Am                     Em7                   Am  Em7                       
A crime for which I am totally innocent, you know.


Am         Em7
I began to warm and chill
Am         Em7
To objects and their fields,
Am       Em7            Am
A ragged cup, a twisted mop
            Em7         Am
The face of Jesus in my soup
               Em7
Those sinister dinner deals
Am                 Em7
The meal trolley's wicked wheels
Am            Em7            Am
A hooked bone rising from my food
               Em7              Am
And all things either good or ungood.


And the mercy seat is waiting
Am+7
And I think my head is burning
Am7              C
And in a way I'm yearning
      G                                  Gm
To be done with all this weighing of the truth.
                                    Bb
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
                      F
And anyway I told the truth
                      Am  Em7  Am  Em7
And I'm not afraid to die.


Am                      Am+7
I hear stories from the chamber
                       Am7
Christ was born into a manger
              C
And like some ragged stranger
   G
He died upon the cross
        Gm                             Bb
Might I say it seems so fitting in its way
                      F
He was a carpenter by trade
                            Am  Em7  Am  Em7
Or at least that's what I'm told
Am             Em7
My kill hand's tatooed E.V.I.L.
Am          Em7
Across it's brother's fist
Am          Em7
That filthy five!
         Am                  Em7
They did nothing to challenge or resist.


Am                              Am+7
In Heaven His throne is made of gold
                            Am7
The ark of his Testament is stowed
              C
A throne from which I'm told
    G
All history does unfold.
     Gm  
It's made of wood and wire
       Bb
And my body is on fire
F                    Am
And God is never far away.


                      Am+7
Into the mercy seat I climb
                              Am7
My head is shaved, my head is wired
           C
And like a moth that tries
   G
To enter the bright eye
     Gm
I go shuffling out of life
        Bb
Just to hide in death awhile
F                  Am
And anyway I never lied.


And the mercy seat is waiting
Am+7
And I think my head is burning
Am7              C
And in a way I'm yearning
      G                                  Gm
To be done with all this weighing of the truth.


An eye for an eye
                  Bb
And a tooth for a tooth
                      F
And anyway I told the truth
                      Am
And I'm not afraid to die.


And the mercy seat is burning
Am+7
And I think my head is glowing
Am7              C
And in a way I'm hoping
      G                                  Gm
To be done with all this twisting of the truth.
                                    Bb
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
                        F
And anyway there was no proof
                      Am
And I'm not afraid to die.


And the mercy seat is glowing
Am+7
And I think my head is smoking
Am7              C
And in a way I'm hoping
      G                                 Gm
To be done with all these looks of disbelief.
                                    Bb
A life for a life and a truth for a truth
                             F
And I've got nothing left to lose
                      Am
And I'm not afraid to die.


And the mercy seat is smoking
Am+7
And I think my head is melting
Am7                 C
And in a way that's helping
      G                                  Gm
To be done with all this twisting of the truth.
                                    Bb
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
                      F
And anyway I told the truth
                        Am
But I'm afraid I told a lie.