[Intro]
    A            A/D
E|-0--0--0-0---------------|
B|-2--2--2-2---2h3-3--3--3-|
G|-2--2--2-2---2---2--2--2-|
D|-2--2--2-2---2h4-4--4--4-| 2x
A|-0--0--0-0---0---0--0--0-|
E|-------------------------|

[Verse 1]
 A/D    A             A/D  A  E  E7
Yeah, when I was only 17, 
        A               A/D  A  E  E7
I could hear the angels whispering
      D              A
So I droned into the woods and 
          A/D  A    E  E7
wondered aimlessly about till
   D               A                   E   E7
I heard my mother shouting through the fog
          A             A/D      A    E  E7
It turned out to be the howling of a dog
        D        A 
or a wolf to be exact
                A/D     A        E  E7
The sound sent shivers down my back
           A              A/D 
but I was drawn into the pack
     A     E E7           A
And before long, they allowed me 
      A/D        A          E  E7
to join in and sing their song
             D                 A 
So from the cliffs and highest hill, yeah
         A/D     A       E  E7
we would gladly get our fill,
             A         A/D  A        E  E7
howling endlessly and shrilly at the dawn. 
       A                  A/D   A              E  E7
And I lost the taste for judging right from wrong. 
        D                   A
For my flesh had turned to fur, yeah 
       A/D                A    E  E7
And my thoughts, they surely were turned to 
  A           A/D    A     E  E7
instinct and obedience to God. 

A    A/D    E  E7    X2

[Chorus]
         D         A
You can wear your fur
          A/D  A  E
like the river on fire.
E7       D         A
But you better be sure
        A/D    A       E 
if your makin' God a liar. 
E7     D            A             
I'm a rattlesnake, babe,
          A/D  A  E 
I'm like fuel on fire.
E7           D             A
So if you're gonna' get made,
           A/D  A  D   A         E   E7 
don't be afraid of what you've learned. 
E7     A    A/D  

[Verse 2]
A/D       A                     A/D  A  E  
On the day that I turned 23, 
         A          A/D         A           E   
I was curled up underneath a dogwood tree. 
          D      A
When suddenly a girl 
               A/D  A    E    
with skin the color of a pearl, 
           D
wandered aimlessly, 
        A                   E   
but she didn't seem to see. 
         A                  A/D    A       E   
She was listenin' for the angels just like me. 
         D                A
So I stood and looked about.
                A/D          A      E   
I brushed the leaves off of my snout. 
                  
            D               A                    E
And then I heard my mother shouting through the trees. 
                  A                A/D     A      E    
You should have seen that girl go shaky at the knees. 
         D             A
So I took her by the arm
           A/D     A      E    
we settled down upon a farm. 
                  D  
And raised our children up as 
A                  E         
gently as you pleased.

A   A/D    E  E7  X2
   
[Pre-Chorus]
           D                    A
And now my fur has turned to skin.
               A/D      A      E   
And I've been quickly ushered in 
        A          A/D       A      E
to a world that I confess I do not know.
            A                  A/D   A                E 
But I still dream of running careless through the snow.
                 D                   A 
An' through the howlin' winds that blow,
             A/D      A      E 
across the ancient distant flow,
              A               A/D   A      E    E7
it fill our bodies up like water till we know.
A  A/D  A  E  E7    2x
 
[Chorus]
         D         A
You can wear your fur
          A/D  A  E
like the river on fire.
E7       D         A
But you better be sure
        A/D    A       E 
if your makin' God a liar. 
E7     D            A             
I'm a rattlesnake, babe,
          A/D  A  E 
I'm like fuel on fire.
E7           D             A
So if you're gonna' get made,
           A/D  A  D   A         E   E7 
don't be afraid of what you've learned. 
E7     A    A/D