Biography:
Harry Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer and songwriter. Chapin's debut album, Heads and Tales (1972), was a success thanks to the single "Taxi". His follow-up album, Sniper and Other Love Songs, was less successful; but his third, Short Stories, was a major success. Verities & Balderdash, released soon after, was even more successful, bolstered by the chart-topping hit single "Cat's in the Cradle". He also wrote and performed a Broadway musical, The Night That Made America Famous.
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Other songs:
- Cats In The Cradle
- Circle
- Dreams Go By
- Tangled Up Puppet
- Cat’s In The Cradle
- 30000 Pounds Of Bananas
- A Better Place To Be
- A Better Place To Be Version 2
- All My Lifes A Circle
- Any Old Kind Of Day
- Better Place To Be
- Copper
- Coreys Coming
- Coreys Coming Long
- Could You Put Your Light On Please
- Flowers Are Red
- I Wanna Learn A Love Song
- I Wonder What Happened To Him
- I Wonder What Would Happen To This World
- Jenny
- Last Of The Protest Singers
- Last Stand
- Let Time Go Lightly
- Mail Order Annie
- Mr Tanner
- November Rains
- Old Folkie
- Poor Damned Fool
- Remember When The Music
- Saturday Morning
- Sequel
- She Is Always Seventeen
- Shooting Star
- Six String Orchestra
- Story Of A Life
- Stranger With The Melodies
- Sunday Morning Sunshine
- Taxi
- The Rock
- The Shortest Story
- What Made America Famous
- Wold
- You Are The Only Song
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!
#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
From: [email protected] (David S. Blumenthal)
Stranger With The Melodies Harry Chapin
As recorded (approximately :) ) on Legends of the Lost and Found
Information:
TAB: one space equals one eigth note
main pattern repeats through out song (note variations at end of choruses):
D D/G D/E D/A
e|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|
B|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|
G|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|
D|0-------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
A|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|0-------|--------|
E|--------|--------|3-------|----(2)-|0-------|--------|--------|--------|
end of verse progression:
A A7 A6 A
E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E
o-o-------o o-o-------- o-o-------- o-o-------o
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2 2 2 | | | 2 2 2 | | | 2 2 2 2 | | 2 2 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
other verse pattern (I don't know the pick pattern, so I just strum these):
Bm F Am Em
F Em G A A7 A6 A
last chord:
D (final)
E A D G B E
x o o
| | | | | |
| | | 7 7 |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | 10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO:
D D/G D/E D/A
D D/G D/E D/A
D
It was my first night in that roomin' house,
D/G
in the last room down the hall.
D/E
I heard a hoarse voice, and an old guitar,
D/A
comin' through the paper thin walls.
D
A crazy nonsense nursery rhyme,
D/G
it did not mean a thing.
D/E
But for the first of what was to be a thousand times,
D/A
this is what I heard him sing.
CHORUS:
D
Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
D/G
'till I find the "G."
D/E
Drop it down to old "E" minor,
D/A D D/A
'till the "A" chord rolls back home around to "D."
D D/G
I had to lay there listening, it seemed he was in the room.
D/E D/A
The stranger with the melodies, singin' there in the gloom.
Bm F
And he repeated it over and over again, such a soft and sinking sound.
Am Em
It was kind of like a music box that was slowly windin' down.
F Em
And he sang it, he hummed it, he whistled it, and he strummed it.
G A A A7 A6
He laughed it, and he cried it. He did anything but hide it.
CHORUS:
A D
Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
D/G
'till I find the "G."
D/E
Drop it down to old "E" minor,
D/A D D/A
'till the "A" chord rolls back home around to me.
D D/G
So I lay there in that lumpy bed, counted choruses instead of sheep,
D/E D/A
'till I banged on the wall and out I called, "Hey bub, I need some sleep."
(D) (stop pattern, just base) (G)
A sudden void of silence, then I heard that hoarse voice say,
(E) (A) D (resume pattern) D/A
"It weren't so long ago, boy, they paid me to play.
D D/G
So I said, "It's kind of late for music, sir. Two hours 'till it's daylight."
D/E D/A
He answered, "I need my music most in these dark hours of the night.
Bm F
You see I've tried gettin' high on somethin', son; it only brings me down.
Am Em
Stayin' dry don't work out better, boy, 'cause my eyes get wet and I drown.
F Em
Won't you please let me continue, and I'll be in your debt.
G A A A7 A6
You see I'm not singin' to remember, son. I'm just singin' to forget.
CHORUS:
A D
Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
D/G
'till I find the "G."
D/E
Drop it down to old "E" minor,
D/A D D(strum) D(strum) A
'till the "A" chord rolls back home around to me.
C G
That's when I said, if I'm supposed to listen to you, sir,
C G
one quick question, then.
F C A
Why in the hell do you sing one song, over and over again?
(spoken) And this is what he said.
D D D D/G
I gave her the music, son. She gave me the words.
D/E D/A
Together we'd write the kinds of songs the angels must have heard.
D D/G
Of course, we'd fight like cats and dogs; life ain't no rosebud dream.
D/E D/A
Still, where ever we'd go, everybody'd know, we were truly a team.
D D/G
I can't remember now if I'd done her wrong, or if she'd done wrong to me.
D/E D/A
Still, all I know is when I let her go, it did not set me free.
Bm
That's when I said, "You sound like what's-his-name."
F
He said, "That's who I am.
Am
But you can't wrap a name around you boy,
Em
'cause it really don't mean a damn.
F Em
You see, a song don't have no meanin', when it don't have nothin' to say.
G A A A7 A6 A
What she could do was magic, son. All I can do is play.
D
He started singin' again, that's when I drifted off,
D/G
and maybe I'd dreamed what I'd heard,
D/E
about the stranger with the melodies,
D/A
who'd gone and lost the words.
CHORUS:
D
Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
D/G
'till I find the "G."
D/E
Drop it down to old "E" minor,
D/A D D(final)
'till the "A" chord rolls back home around to "D."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/ | Dave Blumenthal |
| _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ | [email protected] |
| _/ _/ _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/_/ | The Ohio State University |
| _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/ _/ | Statistical Computing Laboratory |
| _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/ | (614) 292-5535 |
------ There is a fine difference between insight and insanity. -------
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
From: [email protected] (David S. Blumenthal)
Stranger With The Melodies Harry Chapin
As recorded (approximately :) ) on Legends of the Lost and Found
Information:
TAB: one space equals one eigth note
main pattern repeats through out song (note variations at end of choruses):
D D/G D/E D/A
e|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|
B|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|
G|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|
D|0-------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
A|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|0-------|--------|
E|--------|--------|3-------|----(2)-|0-------|--------|--------|--------|
end of verse progression:
A A7 A6 A
E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E E A D G B E
o-o-------o o-o-------- o-o-------- o-o-------o
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2 2 2 | | | 2 2 2 | | | 2 2 2 2 | | 2 2 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
other verse pattern (I don't know the pick pattern, so I just strum these):
Bm F Am Em
F Em G A A7 A6 A
last chord:
D (final)
E A D G B E
x o o
| | | | | |
| | | 7 7 |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | 10
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO:
D D/G D/E D/A
D D/G D/E D/A
D
It was my first night in that roomin' house,
D/G
in the last room down the hall.
D/E
I heard a hoarse voice, and an old guitar,
D/A
comin' through the paper thin walls.
D
A crazy nonsense nursery rhyme,
D/G
it did not mean a thing.
D/E
But for the first of what was to be a thousand times,
D/A
this is what I heard him sing.
CHORUS:
D
Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
D/G
'till I find the "G."
D/E
Drop it down to old "E" minor,
D/A D D/A
'till the "A" chord rolls back home around to "D."
D D/G
I had to lay there listening, it seemed he was in the room.
D/E D/A
The stranger with the melodies, singin' there in the gloom.
Bm F
And he repeated it over and over again, such a soft and sinking sound.
Am Em
It was kind of like a music box that was slowly windin' down.
F Em
And he sang it, he hummed it, he whistled it, and he strummed it.
G A A A7 A6
He laughed it, and he cried it. He did anything but hide it.
CHORUS:
A D
Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
D/G
'till I find the "G."
D/E
Drop it down to old "E" minor,
D/A D D/A
'till the "A" chord rolls back home around to me.
D D/G
So I lay there in that lumpy bed, counted choruses instead of sheep,
D/E D/A
'till I banged on the wall and out I called, "Hey bub, I need some sleep."
(D) (stop pattern, just base) (G)
A sudden void of silence, then I heard that hoarse voice say,
(E) (A) D (resume pattern) D/A
"It weren't so long ago, boy, they paid me to play.
D D/G
So I said, "It's kind of late for music, sir. Two hours 'till it's daylight."
D/E D/A
He answered, "I need my music most in these dark hours of the night.
Bm F
You see I've tried gettin' high on somethin', son; it only brings me down.
Am Em
Stayin' dry don't work out better, boy, 'cause my eyes get wet and I drown.
F Em
Won't you please let me continue, and I'll be in your debt.
G A A A7 A6
You see I'm not singin' to remember, son. I'm just singin' to forget.
CHORUS:
A D
Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
D/G
'till I find the "G."
D/E
Drop it down to old "E" minor,
D/A D D(strum) D(strum) A
'till the "A" chord rolls back home around to me.
C G
That's when I said, if I'm supposed to listen to you, sir,
C G
one quick question, then.
F C A
Why in the hell do you sing one song, over and over again?
(spoken) And this is what he said.
D D D D/G
I gave her the music, son. She gave me the words.
D/E D/A
Together we'd write the kinds of songs the angels must have heard.
D D/G
Of course, we'd fight like cats and dogs; life ain't no rosebud dream.
D/E D/A
Still, where ever we'd go, everybody'd know, we were truly a team.
D D/G
I can't remember now if I'd done her wrong, or if she'd done wrong to me.
D/E D/A
Still, all I know is when I let her go, it did not set me free.
Bm
That's when I said, "You sound like what's-his-name."
F
He said, "That's who I am.
Am
But you can't wrap a name around you boy,
Em
'cause it really don't mean a damn.
F Em
You see, a song don't have no meanin', when it don't have nothin' to say.
G A A A7 A6 A
What she could do was magic, son. All I can do is play.
D
He started singin' again, that's when I drifted off,
D/G
and maybe I'd dreamed what I'd heard,
D/E
about the stranger with the melodies,
D/A
who'd gone and lost the words.
CHORUS:
D
Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
D/G
'till I find the "G."
D/E
Drop it down to old "E" minor,
D/A D D(final)
'till the "A" chord rolls back home around to "D."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/ | Dave Blumenthal |
| _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ | [email protected] |
| _/ _/ _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/_/ | The Ohio State University |
| _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/ _/ | Statistical Computing Laboratory |
| _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/ | (614) 292-5535 |
------ There is a fine difference between insight and insanity. -------
Harry Styles
Harry Woods
Hart
Harvey Beaks
Harvey Danger
Hawthorne Height (...)
Hayao Miyazaki
Hayashibara Megu (...)
Hayden
Hayden Panettier (...)