A better
place to be
D D7
1. It was an early morning barroom,
D7 D
and
the place had just opened up,
Em G
and a
little man came in so fast,
Em A7
and
he started at his cups.
D D7
And the broad who served the
whiskey,
D7 D
she
was a big old friendly girl,
Em G
and
she tried to fight her empty nights,
Em A7
by
smiling at the world.
G A - F#m
And she said, "Hey, bub, it's been a while,
B7
since
you've been around.
Em A
Where the hell you been
hiding,
G D
and
why you look so down ?
G A
But,
the little man just sat there
G A
D
like
he'd never heard a sound.
C
G
2. The waitress she gave out with a cough,
Bb F Em A
and
acting not the least put off, she spoke once again.
- D G
She said, "I don't want to bother you,
Em A
consider
it's understood,
Em A
I know I'm not no beauty queen,
Em - A7 D
but I
sure can listen good.
G A
And the little man took his
drink in his hand,
Em D G D
and
he raised it to his lips, he took a couple sips,
Em A G D
and
then he told the waitress this story.
D Am
C G
D
3. I am the midnight watchman down at Miller's Tool and Die,
G
F#m Bm C
and I
watch the metal rusting, and I watch the time go by.
A G F#m B7
A week ago, at the diner, I
stopped to get a bite,
Em A
G A D
and
this here lovely lady she sat two seats from my right.
G Em A D
And Lord, Lord, Lord, she was alright !
D Am C G D
4. Oh, she was so damn beautiful that she could warm a winters frost,
G F#m Bm C
but
she was long past lonely and well nigh onto lost.
A G
F#m B7
Now I'm not much of a mover or
a pick'em up, easy guy,
Em A G A D
but I
decided to glide on over and give her one good try.
G Em A D
And Lord, Lord, Lord, she was
worth a try !
D Am C G
D
5. Tongue tied like a schoolboy, I stammered out some words,
G
F#m Bm C
but it
did not really matter much 'cause I don't think she heard.
A G
F#m B7
She just looked clear on through
me to a space back in my head,
Em A
G Em D
it
shamed me into silence, as quietly she said :
D G
If you want me to come with
you,
Em A
then
that's all right with me,
Em A
'cause I know I'm going
no-where,
Em A7 D
and
anywhere's a better place to be.
Em
A7 D
+ D - G - Em - A - Em - A + Anywhere’s a better place to be.
D D7
6. Well, I drove her to my boarding house,
D7
D
and I
took her up to my room,
Em G
and I
went to turn on the only light,
Em
A7
to
brighten up the gloom.
Dm
But she said, "Please
leave the light off,
Gm
oh, I
don't mind the dark.”
F
And as her clothes all tumbled
'round her,
A A7
I could hear my heart.
D Am C
G D
7. The moonlight shone upon her, as she lay back in my bed,
G
F#m Bm C
it
was the kind of scene I only had imagined in my head.
A
G
F#m B7
I just could not believe it,
to think that she was real,
Em
A
G Em D
and
as I tried to tell her, she said, "Ssssh, I know
just how you feel !”
D
G
“And if you want to come here
with me,
Em
A7
then
that's all right with me,
Em A7
’cause I've been so lonely,
Em
A7 D
lovin' someone is a better way to be.
Em A7 D
+ D - G - Em - A - Em - A +
Anywhere’s a better place to be.
D Am C G D
8. The mornin' came so swiftly, I held her in
my arms,
G F#m Bm C
and
she slept like a baby, snug and safe from harm.
A G
F#m B7
I did not want to share her,
or dare to break the mood,
Em A
G
Dm
so before
she woke I went out and bought us both some food.
Dm Gm
I came back with my paper bag
to find that she was gone,
F Gm D
she'd
left a six-word letter sayin', "It's time that I
moved on."
D D7
9. The waitress took her bar rag,
D7 D
and
she wiped it across her eyes,
Em G Em A
and
as she spoke her voice came out as something like a sigh.
D D7 D7 D
She said, “I wish that I was
beautiful or that you were halfway blind,
Em G Em A
and I wish I weren't
so God-damned fat, I wish that you were mine.
G A F#m
B7
And I wish that you'd come
with me when I leave for home,
Em A
G Em D
for
we both know all 'bout loneliness and livin' all
alone.
Em F#m
10. And the little man looked at the empty glass in his hand,
Em
A
D
and
he smiled a crooked grin.
Em D Em A D G
A
He said, "I guess I'm out of
gin and I know we both have been so lonely !
D
G Em A
And if you want me to come
with you, then that's alright with me,
Em A Em A D
'cause I know I'm going
no-where and anywhere's a better place to be.”
(Harry Chapin)