Ticking
Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
Available on the album Caribou
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"An extremely quiet child" they called you in your school reports
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"He's always taken interest in the subjects that he's taught"
Am Gm
So what was it that brought the squad car screaming up your drive
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To notify your parents of the manner in which you died
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At St. Patricks every Sunday, Father Fletcher heard your sins
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"Oh, he's unconcerned with competition he never cares to win"
Am Gm
But blood stained a young hand that never held a gun
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And his parents never thought of him as their troubled son
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"Now you'll never get to Heaven"
Gm C F A7
Mama said Remember Mama said Ticking, ticking
Dm Gm
"Grow up straight and true blue, Run along to bed"
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Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking
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They had you holed up in a downtown bar screaming for a priest
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Some gook said "His brain's just snapped" then someone called the police
Am Gm
You knifed a Negro waiter who had tried to calm you down
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Oh you'd pulled a gun and told them all to lay still on the ground
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Promising to hurt no one, providing they were still
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A young man tried to make a break, with tear-filled eyes you killed
Am Gm
That gun butt felt so smooth and warm cradled in your palm
C Bb F
Oh your childhood cried out in your head "they mean to do you harm"
F Am/E Dm Gm
"Don't ever ride on the devil's knee" Mama said
C C/Bb F A7
Remember mama said Ticking, ticking
Dm Gm
"Pay your penance well, my child Fear where angels tread"
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Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking
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Within an hour the news had reached the media machine
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A male Caucasian with a gun had gone berserk in Queens
Am Gm
The area had been sealed off, the kids sent home from school
C Bb F
Fourteen people lying dead in a bar they called the Kicking Mule
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Oh they pleaded to your sanity for the sake of those inside
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"Throw out your gun, walk out slow just keep your hands held high"
Am Gm
But they pumped you full of rifle shells as you stepped out the door
C Bb F
Oh you danced in death like a marionette on the vengeance of the law
F Am/E Dm Gm
"You've slept too long in silence" Mama said
C F A7
Remember Mama said Ticking, ticking
Dm Gm
"Crazy boy, you'll only wind up with strange notions in your head"
C C/Bb Am Gm F
Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking
F C/F Bb/F
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