[Verse 1]
F#m      A       D
Someone said he gave his soul
        D             E          F#m
To the king of where hell fires burn
     A                    D    E
And he got the blues in return
   F#m       A        D
A crossroad midnight rendezvous
        D           E           F#m
For a slice of the fortune and fame
     A                       D   E
But sadly it all stayed the same

[Pre-Chorus]
D                A
A street corner serenade
                 E             B
Spread with the wind to an enchanted crowd
               D
With merciful hearts
                    A
Some people thought otherwise
               E                B
And jealousy arose and venomous alcohol
                F#m
Was drunken in rage

[Chorus]
             Am
He slowly decays
              Em
The poison dilutes the soul
               F           G
Bringing him closer to the end
                C                    Am
Unaware of the legacy he's leaving behind
            B                     Em
And what a legend that he will become
         Gm                Dm
Is it a curse or just a coincidence?
             D#          F
That after twenty seven years
             A#                   Gm
All of his dreams would be taken away
          A                      Dm
But his spirit lives on to this day

[Instrumental]
F#m A D E
F#m A D E

[Verse 2]
     F#m    A        D
His rivals said "He had it all"
 D      E            F#m
Mastery out of this world
 A                   D    E
Destined to redefine art

[Pre-Chorus]
D               A
He knew how to kiss the sky
                    E
He was bolder than love
                 B                   D
Spellbound the third stone from the sun
              A                      E
Up from the skies to the top of the world
               B                        F#m
Enjoying the stardom in every possible way

[Chorus]
                  Am
The wind cries "change"
                  Em
The curse of the genius dragging him
 F             G
Down into the dark
                  C                  Am
Where no one can follow or pull you away
    B                            Em
A bright burning star is led astray
                     Gm
Into his own purple haze
                  Dm
The wine and the sedatives
              D#          F
Unite in the potion of demise
                   A#
And a night in September
                    Gm
His bleeding heart drowned
          A                       Dm
Now it's his turn to ride with the wind

[Instrumental]
Dm C#
F#m E D
F#m E C#m D

Bm C#m D E
Bm C#m D E

[Bridge]
F#m      E           D
Like he came out of nowhere
F#m      E        C#m   D
Shot to fame overnight
F#m          E              D
Changed the limelight from colour to grey
F#m      E        C#m   D
Leader of the sonic revolution

Bm C#m D E
Bm C#m D E

F#m           E           D
Plagued with pain and depression
F#m       E          C#m   D
A man at war with himself
F#m     E             D
Didn't like what his world had become
F#m       E             C#m        D
Slowly consumed by the darkness inside

Bm C#m D E
Bm C#m D E

[Instrumental]
F#m E D
F#m E C#m D
Bm C#m D E
Bm C#m D E

F#m E D
F#m E C#m D
Bm C#m D E
Bm C#m D E

[Outro]
F#m                Am
Lost and falling apart
                  Em            F           G
And he found the remedy at the barrel of a gun
                C                       Am     B               Em
And as he had written: "It's better to burn out than to fade away"