Chords for Harry Chapin - Mr. Tanner

_ _ _ _ But anyway, this is a song I could have written without John.
It's about a singer from Dayton, Ohio, whose name is Mr.
Tanner. _
And I'm sure someday John is going to be 90 for [N] his method acting.
_ Sir John Ross.
I love [G] it. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Mr.
[G] Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest
And of all the cleaning shops around, he'd made [D] his the best
[C] But he also [Bb] was a [A] baritone who sang while hanging [G] clothes
He'd practice [F] scales, walk crescent tails, [E] and sang at [D] local shows
His [Em] friends and neighbors praised the [D] voice that poured out from his throat
[Em] They said that he should use his gift [D] instead of cleaning coats _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ [Bm] But music was his life, it [Am] was not his livelihood
[Em] And it made him feel so happy, [D] and it made him [Dm] feel so good
[G] And he sang [C] from his heart, [D] and he sang from his soul
[G] He did not [C] know how well he sang, it just [G] made him whole _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ His friends kept [Dm] working on him to [Em] try music out [D] full [G] time
A big debut in rave reviews, [Em] a great career [D] decline
_ [C] Finally [Bb] they got to him, [Am] he would take the [G] fling
A concert agent in New [E] York agreed to have him [D] sing
_ And there were [Em] plane tickets, phone calls, [D] money spent to rent the hall
[Em] It took most of his savings, [D] but he'd gladly use them all _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ But [Bm] music was his life, it [Am] was not his livelihood
[Em] And it made him feel so happy, [D] and it made him feel so good
[G] 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 made him [G] _ [G] whole
The _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [F] _ [G] evening came, he took the [D] stage, his face set in a smile
[G] And in the half-filled hall, the [D] critics sat watching on the aisle
[C] But the concert was a blur to [Am] him, [G] sweaters of applause
He did not [F] know how well he [D] sang, he only heard the applause
But [Em] the critics were concise, [D] it only took four lines
[Em] But no one could accuse them [D] of being over kind _ _ _
[G] Mr.
Martin Tanner, baritone of [C] Dayton, Ohio, made his town hall debut [Eb] last night
He came well [G] prepared, but unfortunately his presentation [C] was not up to contemporary professional standards
[Bb] His voice lacks the range of total color [Ab] necessary to make it [G] consistently interesting
_ [C] Full-time consideration [Bb] of another endeavor might be in [B] order
_ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ He came home to Dayton, and was questioned by his friends
And he smiled and just said nothing, and he never sang [D] again _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] Excepting [Bb] very late at night, [Am] when the shop was dark [G] and closed
He _ _ _ sang softly to himself, as he sorted through [D] the clothes _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Bm] _ _ Music was his life, _ it was [Am] not his livelihood _ _
And [Em] it made him feel so happy, _ [G] it made him feel [D] so good
[Dm] _ [G] And he sang from his [C] heart, _ and [G] he sang from [D] his soul
And [G] they did not know how [C] well he sang, _ [Bb] it just [Dm]
made him [G] whole _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[N] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _