Chord The Confession by Phil Ochs

Bm A there’s nothing as cold as the freeze in your soul G A Bm at the moment when you are arrested . Bm A there’s nothing as real as the iron and steel G A Bm on the handcuffs when you protested . D F# you race through the night in the prison of fright Bm A as you head for the quicksand of questions . Bm A and children unborn will see you in scorn G A Bm if ever you make a confession . and the click of a lock is a shiver of shock as you wonder what are their objectives . upon your guard for the voices are hard that belong to the cops and detectives . and it’s hard to believe as they roll up their sleeves that you’re in for more than a session . and it couldn’t be true and it’s not really you that they want to make a confession . you cannot conceal the confussion you feel as they steadily work to out - guess you . and some will pretend they are really your friend who rally around to your rescue . with frightening force your mind is divorced to give them the guilty impression . every word that you hear is a weapon of fear to win the war of confessions . the lights shoot a glare like bullets they stare and burn out the base of conviction . and you squint and you blink and you try not to think of the cobwebs of contridictions . and your clothes will be wet with the rivers of sweat that tells the tale of attention . and once in awhile the clock has to smile as it counts the time of confession . the questions will rain and pour on your brain with the proper speed they are driven . the circles they pace and the sneer on their face tells you no quarter is given . you can salvage your mind when the paper is signed then the crime is solved by oppression . but win , lose , or draw , it’s the rule of the law to always work for confession . and the balance of scales seems distant and pale in the shadowy days of the trial . and sometimes they die; with their name on a lie when it’s all too late for denial . when agreement is full the switch must be pulled and the chair leaves no hope for correction . but the chances are large he was guilty as charged after all , he made a confession .