A
Closer to death

          Bm
Been many miles since we last met

E                            F#m      D            A
Still, it seems like I stood still as time passed by

A
That year my pride did sting

                   Bm
'Cause for a young man, it's a terrible thing

     E                    F#m          D            A
To realise for the first time that his mother was right




    Bm           F#m               D    A
Oh this old gin sling will keep me satisfied


             Bm             F#m             D          A
Ah yeah, the cold air won't blow and I can close my eyes




A
Ah she came to me

                  Bm
Her eyes full of sorrow and empty of sleep

    E                   F#m        D      A
And asked how it seemed I'd been doing alright (and I laughed)

A
It was a trick that she taught me

                  Bm
I drink so that I sleep without having dreams

     E                    F#m       D                 A
And when I wake up in the morning, oh it is all I can do to survive



   Bm            F#m           D     A
Oh this old gin sling keeps me satisfied

                Bm             F#m             D       A
Though it hurts me more than I know and takes away my mind

F#m                        D                    A             E
Oh but the closer I get to home, fills me with dread just to know

         F#m          D              A
I'll be alone with a bottle on the shelf




All right...

A             Bm              E            F#m        D          A


A             Bm              E            F#m        D          A 
                       But I put it down,   just as soon as I realised




             D                 A           F#m
Oh that the hard times, they don't get better

      D                A         F#m
When life goes in the shadows of memories


F#m                    E
The dark times make it hard to remember

         D           A
All the reasons the good times ended

D                 A      F#m
We remain where others cannot dwell

      D                A              F#m
It's not our place to fall where they fell

F#m                             E                     A
Do you really think that makes anyone happy but yourself?





   Bm           F#m            D        A
Oh this old gin sling left me high and dry

            Bm           F#m         D       A
So I put it back on the shelf for a little while

          F#m           D                   A
Ah but I still pull it down every now and again

        E                 F#m            D        A
Not to toast what's gone before, but to all that remains, yeah

    F#m            D                  A               
Oh always lost in memory, never to forget

        E              F#m          D        A
Laying low with those ghosts is my only regret