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.  
 

                 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.  
 

      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.  
 

      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.  
 

                 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."