E:  022100
E*: x799xx
F#: x91111xx (11's not 1's)
F#m:244222
G#: 466544
 to make it a little less complex, you can play F# as F#m and E* as E



[Intro]
B Bb A E
E F#m G# F#m

[Verse I]
B              F#        A              E*
You climb six lonely sad stairs to your apartment
      E                 F#m          G#                 F#m
After another graveyard shift in the cold dull light of morning.
B             Bb             G#                  F#m
You walked in just in time to catch her as she's leaving
         E                F#m                G#            F#      
But the schedules and the conflicts kept the roof over our heads.

[Pre-Chorus]
    E              F#m
You said you were strong and naive and
B           F#                    E*
If you were scared, well, I would understand.
                           B               F#m
I don't think I would have had the guts to handle it.

[Chorus]
B      F#m       E             F#m
All we had were hand-me-downs.
B          F#m     E         F#m
And all we had was good will
        G#     A                 E*
And you always said it would get better.
                              B                       F#m
"When you're young and you're poor, they hang on your failures."
        G#     A                 E*
And you always said it would get better.

[Post-Chorus]
B Bb A E
E F#m G# F#m

[Verse II]
B             F#m                G#            F#m                
We bought our first house at the advent of the 90s
  E             F#m                 G#             F#m
A Cape Cod on a busy street that we swore we'd fix eventually.
B         F#m  G#             F#m
Winter of '93, we got by with kerosene
  E              F#m            G#             F#m              E
A heater in the living room, we huddled around shivering and me
F#m              B
Trying to get to sleep.
   F#                     E*
My clothes will smell of smoke for weeks.
                      B
Just trying to get to sleep.
B
To sleep,
   F#m
To sleep...

[Chorus]
B      F#m       E             F#m
All we had were hand-me-downs.
B          F#m     E         F#m
And all we had was good will
        G#     A                 E*
And you always said it would get better.
                              B                       F#m
"When you're young and you're poor, they hang on your failures."
        G#     A                 E
And you always said it would get better.
                   B                       F#
I'm sick of seeing ghosts. I won't be here forever.

[Bridge]
   E*                                                     F#
My mother wore a sundress on the day that she got married.
E*                                                F#                        
They held the wedding in a backyard near the city.
E*
I was just one then, I would never remember it
F#    E*
But I heard the voices and implications
G#                    F#m
Telling me who I could never be.

[Break]
B      F#       E*           B 
All we had were hand-me-downs.
E*  B      F#      B          F#   
And all we had was good will.

[Chorus]
B      F#m       E             F#m
All we had were hand-me-downs.
B          F#m     E         F#m
And all we had was good will
        G#     A                 E*
And you always said it would get better.
                              B                       F#m
"When you're young and you're poor, they hang on your failures."
        G#     A                 B      E* F#
And you always said it would get better.