By Dan Bern
Transcribed by Justin
 

            G                  D
When I tell you that I love you
         Em       C
Don't test my love
     G           C           G          C
Accept my love don't test my love
C                             D                      G
Cause maybe I don't love you all that much

         G                       D                       Em           C
Don't ask what kind of music I'm gonna play tonight
       G            C
Just stay awhile
            G           C
Hear for yourself awhile
                        G              D
And if you must put me in a box
                        Em       C
Make sure it's a big box
                G              C
With lots of windows
          G                           C
And a door to walk through
         G                       C
And a nice high chimney
                G             D
So we can burn burn burn
         Em                       C
Everything that we don't like
                      G        C
And watch the ashes
              G           C
Fly up to Heaven
                                G       C
Maybe all the way to India
     G          D           C           Em       G
I'd like that

G                   D               Em             C
All the ancient kings came to my door
                                                   G                D
They said, "Do you want to be an ancient king too?"
                 Em                  C
I said, "Oh yes, very much
                      G                  C
But I think my timing's wrong"
                  G                 C
They said, "Time is relative
                  G                  C
Or did you misread Einstein?"
                                G           C
I said, "Do you really mean it?"
                                                    G              C
They said, "What do you think we come here for
                     G                           D               Em           C
Our goddamn health or something?"

G                 D                   Em        C
Everybody's waiting for the messiah
G                   C
The Jews are waiting
G                     C
The Christians are waiting
 G               C
Also the Muslims
G                     C
It's like everybody's waiting
G                          C
They've been waiting a long time
G                  C
I know how I hate to wait
G                     C
Like even for a bus or something
G                     C
An important phone call
G                    C
So I can just  imagine
G                    C
How darned impatient
G                    C
Everybody must be getting
G                    C
So I think it's time now
G                     C
Time to reveal myself
G                    C
I am the Messiah
G                       C
I am the Messiah
G                     C
I am the Messiah

G                        C
Yes, I think you heard me right
G                     C
I am the Messiah
G                            C
I was gonna wait till next year
G                            C
Build up the suspense a little
G                            C
Make it a really big surprise
G                         C
But I could not resist
G                        C
It's like when you got a really big secret
G                         C
You're just bursting to tell someone
G                          C
It was kinda like that with this
G                          C
And now that I've told you
G                          C
I feel this great weight lifted
G                          C
Dr. Nusbaum was right
             G        C
He's my therapist
            G        D         Em           C
He said get it out in the open

G                        D        Em       C
I spent ten whole days in Jerusalem
G                   C
Mmmm Jerusalem
G                   C
Sweet Jerusalem
G                    C
And all I ate was olives
G                     C
Nothing but olives
G                     C
Mountains of olives
G                     C
It was a good ten days
G              C
I like olives
G              C
I like you too

G                                 D
So when I tell you that I love you
         Em           C
Don't test my love
G                     C
Accept my love
G                     C
Don't test my love
  C                     D                              G
'Cause maybe I don't love you all that much
 
 

Notes:  The Cs on the repetitive G/C parts are actually part of what, for lack of a better term, call the G/C thing. play the G with your second, third and fourth fingers, then play the C by putting your first finger on the first fret of the B string and moving your second and third fingers to the next highest string. Got it? It's kind of like talking blues. If you play guitar and don't know it, learn it fast. I tried lining up the Gs and Cs at first, then gave up and tried to get them to at least line up with each other, then gave up and just typed a G, held down the space bar for a few seconds, and typed a C. There's really no alternative to just knowing the song and knowing where the changes are. I used to wonder if there was anything more boring then just sitting and playing all those Gs and Cs. Now I know: typing them.