James Vincent McMorrow - This Old Dark Machine: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "This Old Dark Machine" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

Cm                            Gm
Spring it came upon us, every insect filled the air
          F
Dropped their wings upon my brother, cast their
  Cm
shadows on his hair
Cm
If we follow where they're leading,
         Gm
We will surely come before
        F
some unseen and wondrous magic,
        Cm
made of visions to explore

Chorus:
          F
Near the town where we were living,
       Cm
was an old abandoned farm
       F
Every year we'd plant an orchid,
         Cm
in the shelter of it's arm
       F
To protect us from the madness,
        Cm
of the future still to come
        Gm
It will be like this forever,
        D#                 F
I will keep you safe from harm

Then they caught us in the summer
Dressed in fathers finest clothes
You the hat he wore to market
I the jacket filled with holes
I've been searchins all these hours
For a hand as pale as bone
That would keep the strongest sunlight
And reflect the brightest stone

Chorus:
Near the town where we were living
Was a warm and fragrant smell
Of the orchid we had planted
Now a forest tall and well
What a statue to our greatness
What a story all will tell
They'll remember us forever
They'll remember where we fell

     Cm
This old dark machine, it shakes and it shudders
A#
Pulls to the left, then dies near the gutter
      F
But still in the road, the traffic is silent
      Cm
The people they stare, and then they turn violent
G#
If they should touch, the hem of your dress
   Cm
I would rise like a lion, strike out again
      D#
The faithful they wait, the faithful they wait
    A#
By the sign

Chorus:
Near the town where we were living
Came a loud and joyous sound
As the earth and all her beauty
Picked us up from off the ground
Carried far across the mountain
To a kingdom never bound
We will live like this forever
I will love you
I will love you
I will love you


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A#

Guitar chord A#

Cm

Guitar chord Cm

D#

Guitar chord D#

F

Guitar chord F

Gm

Guitar chord Gm

G#

Guitar chord G#

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "This Old Dark Machine" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "This Old Dark Machine" by James Vincent McMorrow.