About Free Like Smoke
Free Like Smoke is contemporary Folk song written and composed by singer-songwriter Tiki Black. The piece appears on Tiki Black’s debut album Out Of The Black, as the first track of the album. An alternative acoustic version was released as a single (which you can hear above), entitled Free Like Smoke featuring talented performing musician Jo Bywater. The song has received a commended entry at the UK Songwriting Contest. Radio host Rick Stuart calls it one of his favourite songs of the year and describe the collaboration of the two artists Tiki Black and Jo Bywater as one of the
“moments when the planets align and everything is wonderful with the world”.
Below is the version of Free Like Smoke that appears on the debut album Out Of The Black.
Play:
Free Like Smoke Lyrics:
Close your eyes, Pretend that nothing happened And believe that thus Truth will hide
Close your mind, Pretend that you’re ignorant And believe that thus you escape the martyrs’ side
But when the truth is stuck in your throat, Bad breath Are you a victim, a scapegoat? Bad faith And when your life is stuck in your throat, Bad death Are you born to survive? Bad fate
Shut your ears Pretend no ghosts haunt your heads And towards future pasts take a ride
Shut your dreams, Pretend you’re only human And believe the child in you has die
But when the truth is stuck in your throat, Bad breath Are you a victim, a scapegoat? Bad faith And when your life is stuck in your throat, Bad death Are you born to survive? Bad fate
And you’re free like smoke When you’d breathe, you choke
Lock your heart, Pretend you’re nothing human And disguise cowardice as pride
Lock your wrongs, Get confused in denials And reject on others what you can’t abide
But when the truth is stuck in your throat, Bad breath Are you a victim, a scapegoat? Bad faith And when your life is stuck in your throat, Bad death Are you born to survive? Bad fate
And you’re free like smoke When you’d breathe, you choke
Free Like Smoke Chords
4:4; ~ 100bpm;
V1 | C | C | F | A|G | A|G | G |
V2 | C | C | F | A|G | A|G | G |
Pre-C | C|G | F | G | Am | x2 | |
V3 | C | C | F | A|G | A|G | G |
V4 | C | C | F | A|G | A|G | G |
Pre-C | C|G | F | G | Am | x2 | |
Chorus | C | G | F | F | x4 | |
V5 | C | C | F | A|G | A|G | G |
V6 | C | C | F | A|G | A|G | G |
Pre-C | C|G | F | G | Am | x2 | |
Chorus | C | G | F | F | x4 | end on C |