[Verse - Play arp but hit snare and all low strings at same time to get bass note] It's [C] nine o' - [G/B] clock on a [F/A] Saturday [C/G] [F] The regular [C/E] crowd shuffles [D7] in [G] There's an [C] old man [G/B] sitting [F/A] next to me [C/G] Making [F] love to his [G7sus4] tonic and [C] gin
He says, [C] Son, can you [G/B] play me a [F/A] memory? [C/G] I'm [F] not really sure [C/E] how it [D7] goes, [G] But it's [C] sad and it's [G/B] sweet and I [F/A] knew it complete [C/G] When [F] I wore a [G7sus4] younger man's [C] clothes
[Am] Laa la [Am/G] laa litty [D7/F#] daah,[Am/F-102210][G] [Am] La laa [Am/G] litty daa [D7/F#] daah da dum [G][G/F-120003][C/E-032013][G/D-x55433]
[Chorus] [C] Sing us a [G/B] song, you're the [F/A] piano man [C/G] [F] Sing us a [C/E] song to - [D7] night [G] .. 'Cause we're [C] all in the [G/B] mood for a [F/A] melody [C/G] ..And [F] you've got us [G7sus4] feeling all - [C] right
[Verse] Now [C] John at the [G/B] bar is a [F/A] friend of mine [C/G] He [F] gets me my [C/E] drinks for [D7] free [G] And he's [C] quick with a [G/B] joke or a [F/A] light up your [C/G] smoke, But there's [F] some place that's [G7sus4] he'd rather [C] be [C][F/C][F/C]
He says, [C] Bill, I be [G/B] lieve this is [F/A] killing me [C/G] As the [F] smile ran a - [C/E] way from his [D7] face [G] "Well, [C] I'm sure that [G/B] I could be [F/A] a movie [C/G] star If [F] I could get [G7sus4] out of this [C] place.
[Am] Laa la [Am/G] laa litty [D7/F#] daah,[Am/F-G] [Am] La laa [Am/G] litty daa [D7/F#] daah da dum [G][G/F][C/Ei][G/D]
[Verse] Now [C] Paul is a [G/B] real estate [F/A] novelist [C/G] Who [F] never had [C/E] time for a [D7] wife [G] And he's [C] talking to [G/B] Davy who's [F/A] still in the [C/G] Navy And [F] probably [G7sus4] will be for [C] life
And the [C] Waitress is [G/B] practicing [F/A] politics [C/G] As the [F] businessmen [C/E] slowly get [D7] stoned [G] Yes, they're [C] sharing a [G/B] drink they call [F/A] loneliness, [C/G] But it's [F] better than [G7sus4] drinking a - [C] lone
[Chorus] [C] Sing us a [G/B] song, you're the [F/A] piano man [C/G] [F] Sing us a [C/E] song to - [D7] night [G] 'Cause we're [C] all in the [G/B] mood for a [F/A] melody [C/G] And [F] you've got us [G7sus4] feeling all - [C] right
[Verse] It's a [C] pretty good crowd [G/B] for a [F/A] Saturday [C/G] And the [F] manager [C/E] gives me a smile [D7][G] 'Cause he [C] knows that it's [G/B] me they've been [F/A] coming to see [C/G] To for - [F] get about [G7sus4] life for a [C] while
[Small Build][C] - [C] - [F/C] - [F/C]
And the [C] piano [G/B] sounds like a [F/A] carnival [C/G] And the [F] microphone [C/E] smells like a [D7] beer [G] And they [C] sit at the [G/B] bar and put [F/A] bread in my [C/G] jar And say [F] Man, what are [G7sus4] you doin' [C] here?"
[Am] Laa la [Am/G] laa litty [D7/F#] daah,[Am/F-G] [Am] La laa [Am/G] litty daa [D7/F#] daah da dum [G][G/F][C/Ei][G/D]
[Chorus] [C] Sing us a [G/B] song, you're the [F/A] piano man [C/G] [F] Sing us a [C/E] song to - [D7] night [G] 'Cause we're [C] all in the [G/B] mood for a [F/A] melody [C/G] And [F] you've got us [G7sus4] feeling all - [C] right
[Notes] [Tab for piano figure at start of song] Use first finger to play B string then second for E as nail is longer - better articulation first 4 notes are 16th notes, then triplets for rest of phrase -------(fast--------slower---------------) E 1----------10h12--15-14-13-12- B 1----10h13--------------------16-15-14-13 G 2---------------------------------- D 0--(leave-ringing)--------------- sp = slight pause -------------------------------(sp)-- E 1---6h7h8-6h7h8-6h8----3h4h5--------3-- B 0---------------------------3---3h5--(let 3 ring) G 1----------------------------------- D 0-----------------------------------
[Tab for main Intro] E -3--5310--55--X---X--X---2--3------- B -5---300--65--1---1--1-311--3-5-6--- G -5---400--55--0---2--0---2--4------- D -5---500--77--2---3--2---0--5------- A -3---5xx--88--3---3--3------5------- E -----333-(55)-3---1--0------3------- Dr B S B S B S B S
E -3--53----55--X---1--1-0-- B -5---354--65--1---1--1-1-3 G -5---4----55--0---2--0--- D -5---5----77--2---3--0--- A -3---5----88--3---3--x--- E -----3---(55)-3---1--3--- Dr B S B S B S
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[Tab - Build up verse] E -0---1---3---1-1-1--- B -1---1---3---1-1-1--- G -0---2---4---2-2-2--- x 2 D -2---3---5---3-2-0--- A -3---3---3----------- E ---------------------
[Tab - Part of intro over harmonica] E -3--53----55--X----1--1-0-- B -5---354--65--1----1--1-1-3 G -5---4----55--0----2--0--- D -5---5----77--2----3--0--- A -3---5----88--3----3--x--- E -----3---(55)-3----1--3--- Dr B S B S B S
Play the NOTES D,E,G,A. (D 0h2 G 0h2) Then play barre CHORDS: G D/F# Em D - C Bm C D then straight into the verse
[Verse 1 - No drums] I [Em] left my heart to the [C] sappers round Khe Sanh [G][C][G][D] And my [Em] soul was sold with my [C] cigarettes to the [D] Black [D6] market [D7] man [B] I've had the [Em] Vietnam cold [C] turkey, from the [G] ocean to the [G/F#] silver [C] city And it's [Am] only other [F] vets would understand [D][D6][D7][B] About the [Em] long forgotten [C] dockside guarantees [G][C][G][D] How there were [Em] no V-day [C] heroes in [D] 19 [D6] 7 [D7] 3 [B] How we [Em] sailed into Sydney [C] harbour, Saw an [G] old friend but [G/F#] couldn't [C] kiss her She was [Am] lined, and I was [D] home to the lucky land [G][C][G][D]
[Verse 2 - Drums in] And she was [Em] like so many [C] more from that time on [G][C][G][D] Their [Em] lives were all so [C] empty, till they [D] found their [D6] chosen [D7] one [B] And their [Em] legs were often [C] open But their [G] minds were [G/F#] always [C] closed And their [Am] hearts were held in [F] fast suburban [D] chains [D6][D7][B]
And the [Em] legal pads were [C] yellow, hours [G] long, pay [C] packet [G] lean [D] And the [Em] telex writers [C] clattered where the [D] gunships [D6] once had [D7] been [B] But the [Em] car parks made me [C] jumpy And I [G] never [G/F#] stopped the [C] dreams Or the [Am] growing need for [D] speed and novacaine [G][C][G][D]
[Verse 3] So I [Em] worked across the [C] country end to end [G][C][G][D] Tried to [Em] find a place to [C] settle down, where my [D] mixed up [D6] life could [D7] mend [B] Held a [Em] job on an [C] oil-rig Flying [G] choppers [G/F#] when I [C] could But the [Am] nightlife nearly [F] drove me round the bend [D][D6][D7][B] And I've [Em] travelled round the [C] world from year to year [G][C][G][D] And [Em] each one found me [C] aimless, one more [D] year the [D6] worse for [D7] wear [B] And I've been [Em] back to South East [C] Asia But the [G] answer [G/F#] sure ain't [C] there But I'm [Am] drifting north, to [D] check things out a [G] gain [C][G][D]
[Synth Solo CHORDS] Em C G D Em C D B Em C G C Am D (G C G D)
[Verse 4] You know the [Em] last plane out of [C] Sydney's almost gone [G][C][G][D] Only [Em] seven flying [C] hours, and I'll be [D] landing [D6] in Hong [D7] Kong [B] There ain't [Em] nothing like the [C] kisses From a [G] jaded [G/F#] Chinese [C] princess I'm gonna [Am] hit some Hong Kong [F] mattress all night long [D][D6][D7][B]
Well the [Em] last plane out of [C] Sydney's almost gone [G][C][G][D] Yeah the [Em] last plane out of [C] Sydney's almost gone [D][D6][D7][B] And it's [Em] really got me [C] worried I'm goin' [G] nowhere [G/F#] and I'm [C] in a hurry You know the [Am] last plane out of [D] Sydney's almost gone [G][C][G][D] (Repeat from "Last Plane" one time) G C G C - G C G G [End]
[Other Notes] Original D (x5777x) D6 (x57777) D7 (x57778) Ebdim (x6787x) (Can replace Bmaj with Ebdim as per above but fuller with B)