If You Could Read My Mind
Album: American V: A Hundred Highways
Artist: Johnny Cash
[intro] A
[Verse 1]
A
If you could read my mind, love
G
What a tale my thoughts could tell
A
Just like an old time movie
G
'bout a ghost from a wishing-well
A D
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
E F#m
With chains upon my feet
D A
You know that ghost is me
D F#m
And I will never be set free
Bm7 E A
As long as I'm a ghost you can't see
[Verse 2]
A
If I could read your mind, love
G
What a tale your thoughts could tell
A
Just like a paperback novel
G
The kind that drugstores sell
A D
When you reach the part where the heartaches come
E F#m
The hero would be me
D A
And heroes often fail
A F#m
And you won't read that book again
Bm7 E A
Because the ending's just too hard to take
(Middle section)
A G A G
A D
I'd walk away like a movie star
F#m D
Who gets burned in a three way script
E A
And enter number two
D F#m
A movie queen to play the scene
Bm7 E A
Of bringing all the good things out in me
D A
But for now, love, let's be real
D F#m
I never thought I could act this way
Bm7 E
And I've got to say that I just don't get it
D F#m
I don't know where we went wrong
Bm7
But the feeling's gone
E A
And I just can't get it back
A G A G
[Verse 3]
A
If you could read my mind, love,
G
What a tale my thoughts could tell
A
Just like an old time movie
G
'bout a ghost from a wishing-well
A D
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
E F#m
With chains upon my feet
D A
The story always ends
D F#m
And if you read between the lines
Bm7 E A
You’ll know that I’m just trying to understand
D A
The feeling that you lack
D F#m
I never thought I could feel this way
Bm7 E
And I've got to say that I just don't get it
D F#m
I don't know where we went wrong
Bm7
But the feeling's gone
E
And I just can't get it back
A G end on A