Haven't gotten the chords yet -- I'm thinking some in a minor key, to get a kind of haunting melody, maybe A-minor pentatonic, if I can figure it out ...
Editor's Note: Hereunder a slightly revised version of the lyrics, with chords. The recording is now available on SoundClick, here, or in the player down the page.
Knife Fighter
I.
Am Dm
He’s a stone-cold lizard-eyed knife fighter/
F G Am
And he’s always gettin’ ready to die/
Am Dm
He’s got two in his pocket and one in his boot/
F G Am
And the steel is how he gets high/
Am Dm
He’ll dance with the Devil and cut off his whiskers/
F G Am
And grin like a fool all the while/
Am Dm
When the law comes for him, they better shoot fast/
F G Am
Cause he won’t be goin’ to trial.
Chorus:
F G
Live by the blade, die by the blade/
Am
You know that’s how the story ends/
F G
That’s how they'll write the epitaph/
F G Am
When the knife is your only friend.
II.
Am Dm
He’s had more stitches than a sewing machine/
F G Am
Jagged scars all over his face/
Am Dm
Each time he pulls out his blade/
F G Am
It always comes down to a race/
Am Dm F G Am
To see who Death claims this time, who’ll be going to Hell/
Am Dm F G Am
Win, lose, or draw everybody bleeds, sometimes it’s hard to tell.
(Chorus)
III.
Am Dm F G Am
It’s edges and points and icepick grips, and saber hold for the reach/
Am Dm F G Am
He knows ninety-six ways to kill a man, O the lessons he could teach/
Am Dm F G
He’s a bad steppin’ razor and an expert butcher as he slices and he stabs
Am
and he flays/
Am Dm F G Am
Never had a chance at the peaceful life, far gone in his killin’ ways.
Chorus:
F G
Live by the blade, die by the blade/
Am
You know that’s how the story ends/
F G
That’s how they'll write the epitaph/
F G Am
When the knife is your only friend/
F G Am
When the knife is your only friend
(Slow it down)
When the knife ... is your ... only ... friend ...