Mr. Tanner Chords by Harry Chapin

[E] Harry was constantly picking up observations from the environment,
whether a taxi cab or a stewardess on a plane, constantly making notes.
He saw a review in the New York Times about a singer making his debut
[G] at Town Hall in New York City,
_ who was a real guy named Martin Turbulee from Dayton, Ohio.
[Em] He read the story.
Why was [G] he attracted to it?
And why did he clip it and hold it?
It's because it was part of his story, because he got that review.
So he could feel that guy's pain and _ disappointment in his story,
and he could tell it.
_ _ Mr.
Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest
And of all the cleaning shops around, he'd made his the [D] best
[C] But he also was [Bb] a [Am] baritone who sang while hanging [G] clothes
He'd practice scales while pressing [Em] tails and sang at [D] local shows _
[Em] His friends and neighbors praised the [D] voice that poured out from his throat
[Em] They said that he should use his [D] gift instead of cleaning coats
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ But [Bm] music was his life, [Am] it was not his livelihood
[Em] And it made him feel so happy, [G] and it made him [D] feel so good
[Gm] And he sang [C] from his heart, [G] and he sang [D] from his soul
[G] He did not [C] know how well he [G] sang, [C] it just [G] made him whole
_ _ _ His _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ friends kept working on him to [Em] try music [G] out full time
A big debut in rave [Em] reviews, a great career [D] to climb
[C] Finally [Bb] they got to him, [Am] he would take the [G] fling
A concert agent in New [Em] York agreed to [D] have him sing
And [Em] there were plane tickets, phone [D] calls, money spent to rent the hall
[Em] It took most of his savings, [D] but he gladly used them all _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [Bm] Music was his life, [Am] it was not his livelihood
[Em] And it made him feel so happy, [G] and it made him [D] feel so good
[A] And he sang from [C] his heart, [G] and he sang from [D] his soul
[G] He did not [C] know how well he [G] sang, it [C] just [G] made him _ whole
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ Evening came, he took the stage, his face set in a smile
And in the half-filled hall, the [Em] critics sat [G] [D] watching on the [C] aisle
The concert [Bb] was a blur to him, [Am] splatters [G] of applause
He did not know how well he sang, [Em] he only [D] heard the flaws _
[Em] But the critics were concise, [D] it only took four lines
[Em] And no one could accuse them [D] of being over kind
_ _ Mr.
[G] Martin Tanner, baritone of Dayton, Ohio, made his town hall [Eb] debut last night
He [G] came well prepared, but unfortunately his presentation [C] was not up to contemporary [Gm] professional standards
His voice [Ab] lacks the range of tonal color necessary [G] to make it consistently interesting
[C] Old time consideration [Gm] of another endeavor
_ _ _ _ [G] Might be in order
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ He _ _ _ _ _ _ _ came home to Dayton, and was questioned by his friends
But he smiled and just said nothing, and he never sang [D] again _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C] Accepting [Bb] very late at night, when [A] the shop was [G] dark and closed _
He _ _ _ sang softly to himself, as he sorted through the [D] clothes _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ Music _ [A] _ [Bm] _ _ _
was his life, it [Am] was not his livelihood
_ _ And it [Em] made him feel so happy, _ [G] and it made him feel [D] so good
And [G] he sang from [C] his heart, and he [G] sang from [D] his soul
[G] _ [Am] And he [G] did not know [C] how well he sang, _ [Bb] it [F] just made [G] him _ whole _
_ _ _ _ [N] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _