Stranger With The Melodies

INTRO:
 D   D/G  D/E  D/A
 D   D/G  D/E  D/A

           D
 It was my first night in that roomin` house,
        D/G
 in the last room down the hall.
           D/E
 I heard a hoarse voice, and an old guitar,
 D/A
 comin` through the paper thin walls.
 D
   A crazy nonsense nursery rhyme,
    D/G
 it did not mean a thing.
             D/E
 But for the first of what was to be a thousand times,
 D/A
 this is what I heard him sing.

                 D
      Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
      D/G
          `till I find the "G."
              D/E
      Drop it down to old "E" minor,
                 D/A                                 D      D/A
      `till the "A" chord rolls back home around to "D."


   D                              D/G
 I had to lay there listening, it seemed he was in the room.
     D/E                         D/A
 The stranger with the melodies, singin` there in the gloom.
        Bm                                      F
 And he repeated it over and over again, such a soft and sinking sound.
        Am                                Em
 It was kind of like a music box that was slowly windin` down.
        F                         Em
 And he sang it, he hummed it, he whistled it, and he strummed it.
    G                                    A                       A   A7  A6
 He laughed it, and he cried it.  He did anything but hide it.

      A          D
      Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
      D/G
          `till I find the "G."
              D/E
      Drop it down to old "E" minor,
                 D/A                                D      D/A
      `till the "A" chord rolls back home around to me.


      D                                    D/G
 So I lay there in that lumpy bed, counted Choruses instead of sheep,
         D/E                                       D/A
 `till I banged on the wall and out I called, "Hey bub, I need some sleep."
  D   stop pattern, just base        G
    A sudden void of silence, then I heard that hoarse voice say,
  E                              A               D  resume pattern  D/A
   "It weren`t so long ago, boy, they paid me to play.
      D                                             D/G
 So I said, "It`s kind of late for music, sir.  Two hours `till it`s daylight."
    D/E                                      D/A
 He answered, "I need my music most in these dark hours of the night.
              Bm                                       F
 You see I`ve tried gettin` high on somethin`, son; it only brings me down.
         Am                                        Em
 Stayin` dry don`t work out better, boy, `cause my eyes get wet and I drown.
           F                           Em
 Won`t you please let me continue, and I`ll be in your debt.
             G                                       A            A      A7  A6
 You see I`m not singin` to remember, son.  I`m just   singin` to forget.

      A          D
      Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
      D/G
          `till I find the "G."
              D/E
      Drop it down to old "E" minor,
                 D/A                                D   D strum  D strum  A
      `till the "A" chord rolls back home around to me.


               C                        G
 That`s when I said, if I`m supposed to listen to you, sir,
 C                   G
 one quick question, then.
 F                      C              A
 Why in the hell do you sing one song, over and over again?

  spoken  And this is what he said.

 D   D   D                             D/G
           I gave her the music, son.  She gave me the words.
   D/E                                      D/A
 Together we`d write the kinds of songs the angels must have heard.
    D                                      D/G
 Of course, we`d fight like cats and dogs; life ain`t no rosebud dream.
              D/E                                     D/A
 Still, where ever we`d go, everybody`d know, we were truly a team.
           D                                       D/G
 I can`t remember now if I`d done her wrong, or if she`d done wrong to me.
        D/E                                 D/A
 Still, all I know is when I let her go, it did not set me free.
               Bm
 That`s when I said, "You sound like what`s-his-name."
    F
 He said, "That`s who I am.
         Am
 But you can`t wrap a name around you boy,
           Em
 `cause it really don`t mean a damn.
            F                                   Em
 You see, a song don`t have no meanin`, when it don`t have nothin` to say.
      G                                 A           A    A7  A6   A
 What she could do was magic, son.  All I can do is play.
            D
 He started singin` again, that`s when I drifted off,
     D/G
 and maybe I`d dreamed what I`d heard,
           D/E
 about the stranger with the melodies,
       D/A
 who`d gone and lost the words.

                 D
      Hold that "D" chord on the old guitar,
      D/G
          `till I find the "G."
              D/E
      Drop it down to old "E" minor,
                 D/A                                 D      D final
      `till the "A" chord rolls back home around to "D."