F      C     Bb     F
I can feel a difference.
   C      Bb    F
Today, a difference:
F          C      Bb F
all of us, in our tents,
         C         Bb   F
fearing god like a mistress.

    F                C  Bb    F
We lay on the rocks, in the sun,
          C            Bb      F
watching you and your mama row in,
    F          C
I sat up and blinked,
          Bb   F
when you appeared,
     C             Bb    F
so pale you were nearly clear!
F                 C  Bb  F
Later, I stumbled to my bed,
     C            Bb  F
all alone in the branches.
   F          C
I laid in the dark,
          Bb F            C
thinking about all of my friends,
           Bb F
and their changes.

[Pre chorus]
    Am       Dm
And I do not know
   Bb G          Bb             F
if you know just what you have done.
Am                    Dm
You are the sweetest one
       Bb G      Bb       F
I have ever laid my eyes upon.

[Chorus]

         F        C
It's a beautiful town,
          Dm          Bb
with the rain coming down.
G            Eb
Blackberry, rosemary,
Bb          F
jimmy-crack-corn.
               F          C
You've got the run of the place,
                 Dm      Bb
now that you're running around;
           F
and may kindness,
Eb          Bb      F
kindness, kindness abound.

[Verse]

F        C     Bb     F
In this hour of our lives —
   C      Bb        F
hour of effortless plenty —
F
how do we know
       C            Bb          F
which parts of our hearts want what,
           C     Bb   F
with such base generosity?

F              C     Bb
Taking so many photographs —
    F
so amazed! —
       C           Bb        F
we've never seen a baby so newlyborn.
F              C    Bb
And, when the bulbs do flash,
             F
as bright as morning,
          C           Bb
the crowd keeps on gathering
                  F
like an electric storm.

[Pre Chorus]

         F        C
The phantom of love
        Dm          Bb
moves among us at will.
      G            Eb
Each phantom-limb lost,
   Bb          F
has got an angel
 F        C
(so confused,
                 Dm     Bb
like the wagging bobbed-tail
       C
of a bulldog):
Bb                     F
kindness, kindness prevails.

[Chorus]

F            C
Kindness prevails!
Bb                       F                 C
Ties and rails, ties and rails fall into line,
        Bb   F
bearing kindness.
F              C           Bb
Where will you go, if not here?
F             C
What will you say,
          Bb      F
when you write to us?

[Bridge]

      F          C        Bb
And this is a world of terrible hardship,
      F
everywhere,
                  C
and I search for words
       Bb      F
to set you at ease.
      F                C
But there, in the looking-glass,
    Bb
a kite is soaring,
  F            C
stilling my warring heart
        Bb        F
and my trembling knees.
F           C
Clean as a breeze,
Bb            F
bright as the day:
            C        Bb      F
all of the people gather to say:

[Outro]
        C     Bb    F
"Sweet Esme! Sweet Esme!
C   Bb  F
Oh, oh, oh!"

F          C         Dm             Bb
I believe love will always surround you —
 G          Eb
brave as a bear,
       Bb              F
with a heart rare and true.
                C
But if you are scared,
Dm          Bb
if you are blue,
G          Eb       Bb           F
I have prepared this small song for you:

F       G    Bb    F
Sweet Esme! Sweet Esme!
    Bb  F
Oh, oh, oh!
F       G    Bb    F
Sweet Esme! Sweet Esme!
    Bb  F
Oh, oh, oh!
F       G    Bb    F
Sweet Esme! Sweet Esme!
    Bb  F
Oh, oh, oh!