Biography:
Darren Hanlon is a singer/songwriter from Gympie in Queensland, Australia.
Before becoming a solo artist in 1999, he was a member of The Simpletons, and contributed backing guitar and keyboards for The Lucksmiths, The Deerhunters, and Mick Thomas.
Darren is known for his engaging and down-to-earth folk-pop storytelling as well as his often charming lyrics.
Read more on Last.fm
Other songs:
- A To Z
- All These Things
- Butterfly Bones
- Cast Of Thousands
- Couch Surfing
- Elbows
- Falling Aeroplanes
- Fire Engine
- Folk Insomnia
- Home
- I Wish That I Was Beautiful For You
- Kickstand Song
- Modern History
- Notes On Leaving
- Ostracism Of Vinny Lalor
- Punks Not Dead
- Record Store
- Scenes From A Separation
- She Cuts Hair
- Spend Christmas Day With Me
- The Guitar
- When You Go
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
Capo 3
[Verse]
Am G
It was a sunday in east Berlin i chanced upon a market
Am
i though how love or lack thereof matched the coins in my pocket
G
but thats ok i have no pay im happy all the same
Am
to look through a box of broken clocks and old Atari games
C G Am
and racks of army uniforms of both the west and east
C G Am
and postcards sent to people who were long ago deceased
Am G
a plastic orange comb left over from the GDR
Am
and in a nook behind some books an old parlour guitar
Am G
it was sat upon a wooden packing crate that had been flipped
Am
and if the chance the cursory glance youd call it non descript
G
but i double took i stopped to look and its just one of those things
Am
i do when at a loss i reached across and lightly brushed the strings
C G Am
the sound both deep and ancient came up from the hole beneath
C G Am
the kind that comes from timber given in to times bequethed
C G Am
enough for me to wonder i put up my hand to hale
C Em Am
the vendor of the table just to ask... if its for sale
[Break]
Am G
well he had a chin with whiskers in and in between his lips
Am
he held a cigarette he hadnt lit i took him for a gypsy
G
he stooped and bent and complimented me on my selection
Am
to my surprise within his eyes i saw my own reflection
C G Am
i dont him im not buying im just interested to know
C G Am
so i thought how love or lack thereof matched my fiscal flow
C G Am
he asked me for my name and when he handed it to me
C Em Am
he said it undignified to talk of money... before history
[Break]
and then he said....
Am G
if you hold it right up to the light in pencil can be seen
Am
the signature of the luthier and the date 1918
G
but sir have you got the certificate of authenticity
Am
he said whats the point when you can get the story straight from me
Am G
a russian commander first saw it in a shop window in munich
Am
he was on a stroll and felt the roll of deutchmarks in his tunic
G
he bought it on a whim and to his friend the commisar
Am
said if i survive this war alive ill learn to play guitar
C G Am
he had one final 7 week assignment with his unit
G Am
and im sad to say he was blown away before he learned to tune it
[Break]
Am G
it was sent back to his greiving widow with the rest of his effects
Am
and it languished there under the stair right where the dust collects
G
but there came a day when she passed away as well and without kin
Am
so through her stash and it was labelled trash and put out with the bin
C G Am
it was only sitting on that lonely street in Leningrad
C G Am
for an hour or two before being rescued up by a young lad
G
he was on the hop afraid to stop for long for fear of prison
Am
a balchevik who had been made awefully sick by communism
C G Am
he was disenchanted by the practice of the party scheme
C G Am
how it proved all men are equal seemed to be a tad extreme
C G Am
he walked down by the baltic sea and there he hopped a freigter
C Em Am
and not a word was heard from him again... until many years later
[Break]
Am G
the old man stopped to rest and get his breath and his eyes they started glazing
Am
over i told him this story was both trajic and amazing
G
oh dont stop now i must know how this ends and please be quick
Am
do you know whht became of this mutanous balchevik?
[Break]
G
well the old gyspy looked back at me and his eyes they seemed to clear
Am
he said in 34 he went ashore in the city of Tangier
G
but he came undone as hed become from all those years at sea
Am
addicted to, as sailors do, port wine and gin rummy
C G Am
and one night in a game in a cafe near the medina
C G Am
as the hour grew ever late the balchies kitty it grew leaner
C G Am
and when his francs were gone he prayed upon the evening star
C Em Am
they took the coat that he was wearing, watch and ring....and that guitar
[Break]
Am G
it was won by a german banker who liked it all just fine
Am
who'd grown soft with drinking thinking of his frauline
G
while still abroad he'd learned some chords and in a few months later
Am
when hes again back in berlin hed sit and serenade her
C G Am
he was held back in Morocco by the start of World War II
C G Am
and he learnt she'd met a young cadet and the two of them shot through
Am G
he cursed and spat and vowed that as long as she still lingered
Am
he'd much rather than play guitar, cut off all his fingers
[Break]
Am G
well i felt sorry for this banker but it just didnt align
Am
if its 34 didnt the war begin in 39?
G
Pedant! he cried, would you deny me a single concession
Am
just let me tell you how this thing came into my possession.
G
i bought it from a local pedler, who bought it from a priest
Am
who drove his congregation mad with it to say the least
G
he'd picked it up for next to nothing browsing at a parish fete
Am
donated out of charity from a deceased estate
[Accel]
G
of a lovely music teacher who played it for her pupils
Am
who'd earlier procured it from a man with dubious scrupols
G
who'd pinched it from a folk rock busker somewhere in the town
Am
who'd been playing in Alexanderplatz the night the wall came down
G
he got it cheaply off a man who run a music store for cash
Am
who swapped it from a trader with a handlebar moustache
G
who found it in a paper where it had been advertised
Am
by the son of that German banker who's old girlfriend he despised
G
you'd think any normal person would have just gone out and sold it
Am
but he kept it as a token of the time he was cuckolded
G
he hid it in his attick and it survived the war up there
Am
for 30 years until his son went looking for a chair
G
his dad refused to talk of it until he turned up his toes
Am
but now its found its way to you just give me 400 Euros.
Am G
The blood drained right out of the gypsy's face til it was ashen
Am
he seemed to be completely overcome by his own passion
G
i couldnt bare to think this was elaborate salesman patter
Am
but like i said i had no bread so it really didnt matter
G
the story clanged and banged around my head for the whole day
Am
in spite of all the other things i saw it wouldnt stray
C G Am
before i even knew it i found myself later on
C Em Am
rushing back to the gypsy but the guitar.... and he were gone
[Break]
Am G
ive learnt that what you dont buy today may not be there tomorrow
Am
and you are never strictly poor if youve a friend from which to borrow
G
i thought the old gypsy knew this before he ever saw me
Am
because when i went Sunday, he was waiting for me
C G Am
Ive one more thing to sing my friends, if i may be so bold,
C G Am
the guitar of which i sing, is the one which i now hold
Am G
and to think of love, and the fullness of, is something i get from it
Am
and this song i sing wont mean a thing unless its played upon it.
[Verse]
Am G
It was a sunday in east Berlin i chanced upon a market
Am
i though how love or lack thereof matched the coins in my pocket
G
but thats ok i have no pay im happy all the same
Am
to look through a box of broken clocks and old Atari games
C G Am
and racks of army uniforms of both the west and east
C G Am
and postcards sent to people who were long ago deceased
Am G
a plastic orange comb left over from the GDR
Am
and in a nook behind some books an old parlour guitar
Am G
it was sat upon a wooden packing crate that had been flipped
Am
and if the chance the cursory glance youd call it non descript
G
but i double took i stopped to look and its just one of those things
Am
i do when at a loss i reached across and lightly brushed the strings
C G Am
the sound both deep and ancient came up from the hole beneath
C G Am
the kind that comes from timber given in to times bequethed
C G Am
enough for me to wonder i put up my hand to hale
C Em Am
the vendor of the table just to ask... if its for sale
[Break]
Am G
well he had a chin with whiskers in and in between his lips
Am
he held a cigarette he hadnt lit i took him for a gypsy
G
he stooped and bent and complimented me on my selection
Am
to my surprise within his eyes i saw my own reflection
C G Am
i dont him im not buying im just interested to know
C G Am
so i thought how love or lack thereof matched my fiscal flow
C G Am
he asked me for my name and when he handed it to me
C Em Am
he said it undignified to talk of money... before history
[Break]
and then he said....
Am G
if you hold it right up to the light in pencil can be seen
Am
the signature of the luthier and the date 1918
G
but sir have you got the certificate of authenticity
Am
he said whats the point when you can get the story straight from me
Am G
a russian commander first saw it in a shop window in munich
Am
he was on a stroll and felt the roll of deutchmarks in his tunic
G
he bought it on a whim and to his friend the commisar
Am
said if i survive this war alive ill learn to play guitar
C G Am
he had one final 7 week assignment with his unit
G Am
and im sad to say he was blown away before he learned to tune it
[Break]
Am G
it was sent back to his greiving widow with the rest of his effects
Am
and it languished there under the stair right where the dust collects
G
but there came a day when she passed away as well and without kin
Am
so through her stash and it was labelled trash and put out with the bin
C G Am
it was only sitting on that lonely street in Leningrad
C G Am
for an hour or two before being rescued up by a young lad
G
he was on the hop afraid to stop for long for fear of prison
Am
a balchevik who had been made awefully sick by communism
C G Am
he was disenchanted by the practice of the party scheme
C G Am
how it proved all men are equal seemed to be a tad extreme
C G Am
he walked down by the baltic sea and there he hopped a freigter
C Em Am
and not a word was heard from him again... until many years later
[Break]
Am G
the old man stopped to rest and get his breath and his eyes they started glazing
Am
over i told him this story was both trajic and amazing
G
oh dont stop now i must know how this ends and please be quick
Am
do you know whht became of this mutanous balchevik?
[Break]
G
well the old gyspy looked back at me and his eyes they seemed to clear
Am
he said in 34 he went ashore in the city of Tangier
G
but he came undone as hed become from all those years at sea
Am
addicted to, as sailors do, port wine and gin rummy
C G Am
and one night in a game in a cafe near the medina
C G Am
as the hour grew ever late the balchies kitty it grew leaner
C G Am
and when his francs were gone he prayed upon the evening star
C Em Am
they took the coat that he was wearing, watch and ring....and that guitar
[Break]
Am G
it was won by a german banker who liked it all just fine
Am
who'd grown soft with drinking thinking of his frauline
G
while still abroad he'd learned some chords and in a few months later
Am
when hes again back in berlin hed sit and serenade her
C G Am
he was held back in Morocco by the start of World War II
C G Am
and he learnt she'd met a young cadet and the two of them shot through
Am G
he cursed and spat and vowed that as long as she still lingered
Am
he'd much rather than play guitar, cut off all his fingers
[Break]
Am G
well i felt sorry for this banker but it just didnt align
Am
if its 34 didnt the war begin in 39?
G
Pedant! he cried, would you deny me a single concession
Am
just let me tell you how this thing came into my possession.
G
i bought it from a local pedler, who bought it from a priest
Am
who drove his congregation mad with it to say the least
G
he'd picked it up for next to nothing browsing at a parish fete
Am
donated out of charity from a deceased estate
[Accel]
G
of a lovely music teacher who played it for her pupils
Am
who'd earlier procured it from a man with dubious scrupols
G
who'd pinched it from a folk rock busker somewhere in the town
Am
who'd been playing in Alexanderplatz the night the wall came down
G
he got it cheaply off a man who run a music store for cash
Am
who swapped it from a trader with a handlebar moustache
G
who found it in a paper where it had been advertised
Am
by the son of that German banker who's old girlfriend he despised
G
you'd think any normal person would have just gone out and sold it
Am
but he kept it as a token of the time he was cuckolded
G
he hid it in his attick and it survived the war up there
Am
for 30 years until his son went looking for a chair
G
his dad refused to talk of it until he turned up his toes
Am
but now its found its way to you just give me 400 Euros.
Am G
The blood drained right out of the gypsy's face til it was ashen
Am
he seemed to be completely overcome by his own passion
G
i couldnt bare to think this was elaborate salesman patter
Am
but like i said i had no bread so it really didnt matter
G
the story clanged and banged around my head for the whole day
Am
in spite of all the other things i saw it wouldnt stray
C G Am
before i even knew it i found myself later on
C Em Am
rushing back to the gypsy but the guitar.... and he were gone
[Break]
Am G
ive learnt that what you dont buy today may not be there tomorrow
Am
and you are never strictly poor if youve a friend from which to borrow
G
i thought the old gypsy knew this before he ever saw me
Am
because when i went Sunday, he was waiting for me
C G Am
Ive one more thing to sing my friends, if i may be so bold,
C G Am
the guitar of which i sing, is the one which i now hold
Am G
and to think of love, and the fullness of, is something i get from it
Am
and this song i sing wont mean a thing unless its played upon it.
Darryl Philbin
Darryl Purpose
Darryl Rahn
Darryl Shy
Darryl Worley