Cross My Heart

By Phil Ochs

A
I don't know

But it seems that every single dream's
Bm
Painted pretty pictures in the air
        D            E
And it tumbles in despair
       F#m
And it starts to bend
        G              A
Until by the end its a nightmare

Bm           E     A           F#m
I'm gonna give all I've got to give
A            F#m  C     G          A
Cross my heart,   and I hope to live

I don't know
But it's true, so many things you do
Please you so they leave feeling warm
It's the calm before the storm
For the habit grows and before you know it you're deformed

I'm gonna give all I've got to give
Cross my heart, and I hope to live

I don't know
But I see that every thing is free
When you're young and treasures you can take
But the bridge is gonna break
You reach the end screaming
"It's all been a mistake"

I'm gonna give all I've got to give
Cross my heart, and I hope to live

I don't know
But it seems that every single dream's
painted pretty pictures in the air
Then it tumbles in despair
And it starts to bend
Until by the end its a nightmare

I'm gonna give all I've got to give
Cross my heart, and I hope to live

I don't know
But I feel the safety isn't real, with everybody acting all the same
Or the rules will ruin the game
So I'll go my way, laughing while they say that I'm insane.  Yes-

I'm gonna give all I've got to give
Cross my heart, and I hope to live

I don't know
But I find the speedy hands of time waving out a warning on the wall
But nobody heeds the call
And the soldier obeys while the parson prays for his downfall.  But-

I'm gonna give all I've got to give
Cross my heart, and I hope to live

Notes:

Chords supplied by cody with corrections from James Barnett.

Extra verses supplied by Richard Dilks, who said this:

In addition to the 4 verses presented in the studio version on the Pleasures of The Harbor album, these two verses appear in Phil's live performance of "Cross My Heart" at the Newport Folk Festival in 1966, (available on the CD Phil Ochs Live At Newport, track 9.), where they are verses 3 & 4. They also appear on the demo recording of "Cross My Heart" that is included in the Farewells and Fantasies CD boxed set (Disc 3, track 8.), although the verse order is different. Here they are verses 4 & 2 respectively.

According to Michael Schumacher in There But For fortune: The Life Of Phil Ochs, "when the total playing time of Pleasures of The Harbor came in too long, Phil trimmed several verses from "Cross My Heart" "(pp.-154-5).