Chords for MICHAEL CRAWFORD in Concert 6／9：All Ask of You

_ _ _ _ _ _ _
I'd like to tell you a brief story, if I may, _
[G] about how I became involved with the Phantom of the Opera.
To do that, I [Ab] have to paint a picture.
The year, _ 1984.
The place, [F] the Apollo Victoria Theatre [N] in London,
upstairs, after the final preview of Starlight Express,
outside the men's room.
_ _ The players, Andrew Lloyd Webber and yours truly.
_ Action.
Andrew is headed for the loo.
_ And on his way, he spies me and says,
Michael, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we, we,
we must do Phantom of the Opera together.
_ Not being as foolish as I look, I said, yes, Andrew, love to.
_ The next morning, I rushed out and bought the book.
_ _ After reading through it a couple of times,
I quickly realised there were only two male roles of any consequence.
One was the handsome young nobleman, Raoul.
And the other, a rather grotesque, slightly older man,
the Phantom.
_ Well, of course, I assume he wants me to play Raoul.
_ So, the next day, I go out and I get a copy of the Claude Rains film version,
as the Phantom.
And as the handsome young nobleman, Nelson Eddy.
So, for the next 12 months, I studied this video morning, noon and night.
I lived and breathed Nelson Eddy.
_ At the end of 12 months, for all intents and purposes, I was Nelson Eddy.
I look like Nelson Eddy, I talk like Nelson, I even walk [Bb] like Nelson Eddy. _ _ _ _ _ _
[N] _ Finally, after 12 months of this, Andrew calls me.
So, I said, don't be a ridiculous operator.
Of course I pay for the call. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Eb] So, he said, I want to see you tomorrow morning.
So, the next morning, I ran, well, I didn't run, I walked as fast as I could.
_ _ [N]
And I walked into the theatre, I struck a pose and I said,
well, Andrew, _ I think you've got your handsome young nobleman, Raoul.
And he said, yes, we do.
_ We hired him last week.
I said, what?
He said, we want you to be the Phantom.
I said, what?
_ The ugly old_
And so I was.
_ For over 1300 performances, I donned the mask and the cape. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ Playing the Phantom most certainly changed my life.
I loved playing him and I always will.
_ However, I do have one or two regrets.
I'm not a bitter man.
But I did, after all, waste a year of my life.
And [G] I thought that possibly this evening would give me an opportunity
to maybe show you some of the work that I put in during my Nelson Eddy period.
_ So maybe, with your permission,
_ _ _ with your permission, I could show you my Raoul.
_ _ What? _ _
Excuse me.
_ I'll rephrase that.
Maybe I could show you my interpretation of Raoul. _ _ _ _ _
_ Yes! _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
And that_
_ _ He'll explain it to you later, man. _
And that will _ give me the chance to sing the beautiful duet,
All I Ask of You, with the beautiful Dale Christian. _ _
Who?
Who?
You haven't heard it yet. _
All I Ask of You, my friends, is that you appreciate all the work that went into this.
And to remember that I do control all the chandeliers above your head.
_ _ [Gb] _ _ _ _ [Ebm] _
_ _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ [Db] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ No more talk of darkness.
Forget these wide-eyed fears.
I'm here, nothing can harm [Gb] you.
[B] My words will warm [Ab] and calm you.
[Db] Let me be your freedom.
Let daylight dry your tears.
I'm here with you, [Gb] beside you.
To [Abm] guard you and to guide [Bb] you. _
[Db] _ _ _ [Bbm] Help me [Ebm] every waking [Ab] moment.
_ _ [Db] _ _ _
Twist off of [Eb] summertime.
_ _ [Db] _ _
_ _ Sleep _ with your [Ebm] eyes.
_ [Ab] _ _ _ [Db] Promise me that [Gb] all you say is true. _
_ [Eb] _ [Ab] That's all I ask [Db] of you.
Let me be your shelter.
Let me be your light.
You're safe, no [Gb] one will find you.
Your [B] fears are far behind [Ab] you.
[Db] All I want is freedom.
A world with no more [Db] night.
And you, always [Gb] beside me.
[B] To hold me and [Ab] to hide me.
Then _ say you'll [Bbm] share with [Ebm] me one love, one [Ab] lifetime.
_ [Db] Let [Bbm] me lead you from your [Ebm] solitude. _
_ [Ab] _ _ [Db] Say [Bbm] you need me [Ebm] with you here beside [Ab] you. _
_ [Db] Anywhere you [Gb] go, let me [Db] go too.
_ [Ab] Love me, _ [Fm] that's all I [Ab] ask of you.
[Db] Share [Bbm] with me [Ebm] one lifetime.
_ [Ab] _ _ [Db] So I [Bbm] _ _
[Ebm] will follow you. _ _ _ _
[Db] Share [Bbm] each day with me, [Ebm] each night, each [Ab] morning.
_ _ [Db] Say you [Gb] love me.
You know [Db] I do. _
_ [Ab] Love me, [Ebm] _ [Fm] that's all I [Bb] ask of [Db] you. _
_ [Bbm] _ _ [Ebm] _ _ _ [Ab] _ _
_ [Db] _ _ _ [Bbm] _ _ _ [Eb] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ _
_ [Bbm] _ _ _ _ [Ebm] _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ [Db] _ _ Anywhere you [Gb] go, _ let me go [Db] too.
_ _ _ _ _ [Ab] Love me, _ [Ab] that's all I [Fm] _ _ [Ebm] ask of [Db] you.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _