Mr. Tanner Chords by Harry Chapin

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ Mr.
[G] Tanner was a cleaner from [Em] a town in [G] the Midwest
And of all the cleaning shops around, he'd made [D] his the best
[C] He also [Bb] was a [Am] baritone who sang while [G] hanging clothes
He'd practice [F] scales while pressing [E] 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 gift [D] instead of cleaning clothes
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ [Bm] But music was his life, it [Am] was not his livelihood
[Em] And it made him feel so happy, [G] and it made him feel [D] so good
[G] He sang from [C] his heart, [G] and he sang from [D] his soul
[G] He did not know [C] how well he [G] sang, it just made him whole
_ [Em] _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
His friends kept working on him to [Em] try music arts [G] full time
A big debut in rave reviews, [Em] a great career [D] to climb
[C] Finally [Bb] they got to him, [A] he would take [G] the flame
A concert [F] agent in New [Em] York agreed to have [D] him sing
They were [Em] playing tickets, phone [D] calls, money spent to rent the hall
[Em] He took most of his savings, but [D] he'd gladly use them all
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ [Bm] But music was his life, it [A] was not his livelihood
And [Em] it made him feel so happy, and [G] it made him feel [D] so good
[G] He sang from [C] his heart, and [G] he sang from [D] his soul
[G] He did not know [C] how well he sang, [G] it just made him whole _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
The evening came, he took the stage, his face set in a smile
In the half-filled hall, the critics sat watching on [D] the aisle
[C] The concert was [Bb] a blur to him, [A] spatters [G] of applause
He did not know [Gm] how well he [Em] sang, he only had [D] the flaws
But [Em] the critics were concise, [D] it only took four lines
[Em] And no one could accuse them [D] of being over kind
_ _ _ [G] Mr.
Martin Tanner, baritone of Dayton, [F] 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 [Gm] standards
His voice lacks the [Ab] range of tonal color necessary to make it [G] consistently interesting
[C] Full-time consideration [Gm] of another endeavor _ might be in [Bb] order
_ [G] _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ 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] Excepting very [Bbm] late at night, [A] when the shop [G] was dark and closed
He _ _ _ sang softly to himself, as he sorted through [D] the _ clothes _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Bm] _ But music was his life, it [Am] was not his life at work
And [Em] it made him feel so happy, _ and it [G] made him feel so [D] good
And [G] he sang from [C] his heart, and [G] he sang from [D] his soul
He [G] did not know [C] how well he sang, _ [Bb] it just [F] made him
_ [G] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Em] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _