D          G     D     A    A  
Yeah, when I was only se-   ven- teen 
        D               G     D     A   A  
I could hear the angels whis- per- ing
     G               D                  G      D    A
So I droned into the words and wandered aimlessly about
       G               D                    A   A  
Until I heard my mother shouting through the fog
          D             G       D     A   A  
It turned out to be the howling of a dog
     G           D                    G       D        A
Or a wolf to be exact, the sound sent shivers down my back
          G              D               A    A  
But I was drawn into the pack and before long
       D                G      D           A    A  
They allowed me to join in and sing their song
            G                  D                   G      D        A
So from the cliffs and highest hill, yeah we would gladly get our fill
        G             D               A   A  
Howling endlessly and shrilly at the dawn 
      D                  G       D           A     A  
And I lost the taste for judging right from wrong 
        G                  D                G              D       A
For my flesh had turned to fur, yeah and my thoughts, they surely were
G            D            A   A  
instinct and obedience to God

Interlude -x2-: D  G  D  A  A

Chorus:
        G         D            G     D    A
You can wear your fur like the river on fire
        G         D            G      D      A
But you better be sure if your makin' God a liar
      G            D              G     D    A         
I'm a rattlesnake, babe, I'm like fu-el on fire
             G          D
So if you're gonna' get made
          G     D    D   D      A       A    A     A  
Don't be afraid of what you've learned      


       D                 G     D     A     A   
On the day that I turned twen- ty-  three 
      D              G       D        A    A  
I was curled up underneath a dogwood tree 
     G          D                   G     D     A
When suddenly a girl, with skin the color of a pearl 
         G                  D              A   A  
Wandered aimlessly, but she didn't seem to see
        D                 G      D          A  A  
She was listenin' for the angels just like me
     G                 D                   G          D      A
So I stood and looked about, I brushed the leaves off of my snout
           G               D                    A     A  
And then I heard my mother shouting through the trees 
                D                 G     D       A     A   
You should have seen that girl go shaky at the knees 
     G               D               G     D      A
So I took her by the arm, we settled down upon a farm 
               G              D             A       A  
And raised our children up as gently as you pleased

Interlude -x2-: D  G  D  A  A

           G                 D                  G       D        A
And now my fur has turned to skin and I've been quickly ushered in 
     G               D             A    A  
To a world that I confess I do not know
            D                G        D            A    A   
But I still dream of running careless through the snow
                G                  D                G       D        A
An' through the howlin' winds that blow, across the ancient distant flow
            G              D             A    A  
It fill our bodies up like water till we know

Interlude -x2-: D  G  D  A  A
 
Chorus:
        G         D            G     D    A
You can wear your fur like the river on fire
        G         D            G      D      A
But you better be sure if your makin' God a liar
      G            D              G     D    A         
I'm a rattlesnake, babe, I'm like fu-el on fire
             G          D
So if you're gonna' get made
          G     D    D   D      A       A    A     A  
Don't be afraid of what you've learned 

Outro: G