Biography:
Harry Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer and songwriter. Chapin's debut album, Heads and Tales (1972), was a success thanks to the single "Taxi". His follow-up album, Sniper and Other Love Songs, was less successful; but his third, Short Stories, was a major success. Verities & Balderdash, released soon after, was even more successful, bolstered by the chart-topping hit single "Cat's in the Cradle". He also wrote and performed a Broadway musical, The Night That Made America Famous.
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Other songs:
- Cats In The Cradle
- Circle
- Dreams Go By
- Tangled Up Puppet
- Cat’s In The Cradle
- 30000 Pounds Of Bananas
- A Better Place To Be
- A Better Place To Be Version 2
- All My Lifes A Circle
- Any Old Kind Of Day
- Better Place To Be
- Copper
- Coreys Coming
- Coreys Coming Long
- Could You Put Your Light On Please
- Flowers Are Red
- I Wanna Learn A Love Song
- I Wonder What Happened To Him
- I Wonder What Would Happen To This World
- Jenny
- Last Of The Protest Singers
- Last Stand
- Let Time Go Lightly
- Mail Order Annie
- Mr Tanner
- November Rains
- Old Folkie
- Poor Damned Fool
- Remember When The Music
- Saturday Morning
- Sequel
- She Is Always Seventeen
- Shooting Star
- Six String Orchestra
- Story Of A Life
- Stranger With The Melodies
- Sunday Morning Sunshine
- Taxi
- The Rock
- The Shortest Story
- What Made America Famous
- Wold
- You Are The Only Song
Four years of hard work!This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!
A Better Place To Be
D D
It was an early morning barroom
D7 G
And the place had just opened up
Em Em
And a little man came in so fast
Em A7
And he started at his cups
D D
And the broad who served the whiskey
D7 G
She was a big old friendly girl
Em Em
Who tried to fight her empty nights
Em A7
By smiling at the world
G A
And she said "Hey, bub, it's been a while
F#m B7
Since you've been around
Em A
Where the hell you been hiding
G D
And why you look so down
G A
Well, the little man sat there
G A D
Like he'd never heard a sound
Cm G
The waitress she gave out with a cough
Bb F Em A
And acting not the least put off she spoke once again
D G
She said "I don't want to bother you
Em Em – Em - Em
Consider it's understood
A Em – Em - Em
I know I'm not no beauty queen
A Em A7sus4 D
But I sure can listen good
G
And the little man
A
Took his drink in his hand
Em D
And he raised it to his lips
G D
He took a couple sips
Em7 A D
And then he told the waitress this story
D Am C G D
I am the midnight watchman down at Miller's Tool and Die
G F#m Bm C
And I watch the metal rusting, I watch the time go by
A G F#m B7
A week ago at the diner I stopped to get a bite
Em A G Em7 A D
And this here lovely lady she sat two seats from my right
G G Em7 G G Em7 D
And Lord, lord, lord, (Lord, Lord, Lord) she was alright
D Am C G D
You see she was so damn beautiful that she could warm a winters frost
G F#m Bm C
But she looked long past lonely and well nigh onto lost
A G F#m B7
Now I'm not much of a mover or a pick'em up easy guy
Em A G Em7 D
But I decided to glide on over and give her one good try
G G Em7 G G Em7 D
And Lord, lord, lord, she was worth a try
D Am C G D
Well I was tongue tied like a schoolboy, I stammered out some words
G F#m Bm C
It did not seem to matter much 'cause I don't think she heard
A G F#m B7
She just looked clear on through me to a space back in my head
Em A G Em7 D
It shamed me into silence as quietly she said
D G
If you want me to come with you
Em Em – Em - Em
Then that's all right with me
A Em – Em - Em
'Cause I know I'm going no-where
A Em A7sus4 D
And anywhere's a better place to be
A Em A7sus4 D
Anywheres a better place to be
D D
Well, I drove her to my boarding house
D7 G
And I took her up to my room
Em Em
And I went to turn on the only light
Em A7
To brighten up the gloom
Dm
But she said, "Please leave the light off,
Gm
Oh, I don't mind the dark"
F
And as her clothes all tumbled 'round her
Asus4 A Asus4 - A - Asus4 - A
I could hear my heart
D Am C G D
The moonlight shone upon her as she lay back in my bed
G F#m Bm C
It was the kind of scene I only had imagined in my head
A G F#m B7
I just could not believe it to think that she was real
Em A G Em7 D
And as I tried to tell her, she said "Ssssh, I know just how you feel
D G
And if you want to come here with me
Em Em – Em - Em
Then that's all right with me
A Em – Em - Em
Cause I've been so lonely
A Em A7sus4 D
Lovin' someone is a better way to be
A Em A7sus4 D
Anywhere's a better place to be
D Am C G D
Well the mornin' came so swiftly I held her in my arms
G F#m Bm C
And she slept like a baby, snug and safe from harm
A G F#m B7
I did not want to share her or dare to break the mood
Em A G Dm
So before she woke I went out to buy us both some food
Dm Gm
I came back with my paper bag to find that she was gone
F Gm D
She'd left a six-word letter sayin' "It's time that I moved on"
D D D7 G
You know the waitress she took her bar rag and she wiped it across her eyes
Em Em Em A7
And as she spoke her voice came out as something like a sigh
D D D7 G
She said I wish that I was beautiful or that you were halfway blind
Em Em Em A7
And I wish I weren't so God-damned fat, I wish that you were mine
A7 G A F#m B7
And I wish that you'd come with me when I leave for home
Em A G Em D
For we both know all 'bout emptiness and livin' all alone
D Em7 F#m Em7
And the little man looked at the empty glass in his hand and he smiled a crooked in
Em7 D Em7 D G - Em7 - A
He said "I guess I'm out of gin and I know we both have been so lonely
D G Em
And if you want me to come with you then that's alright with me
A Em A Em7 A7 D D - G - D
'Cause I know I'm going no-where and anywhere's a better place to be
D D
It was an early morning barroom
D7 G
And the place had just opened up
Em Em
And a little man came in so fast
Em A7
And he started at his cups
D D
And the broad who served the whiskey
D7 G
She was a big old friendly girl
Em Em
Who tried to fight her empty nights
Em A7
By smiling at the world
G A
And she said "Hey, bub, it's been a while
F#m B7
Since you've been around
Em A
Where the hell you been hiding
G D
And why you look so down
G A
Well, the little man sat there
G A D
Like he'd never heard a sound
Cm G
The waitress she gave out with a cough
Bb F Em A
And acting not the least put off she spoke once again
D G
She said "I don't want to bother you
Em Em – Em - Em
Consider it's understood
A Em – Em - Em
I know I'm not no beauty queen
A Em A7sus4 D
But I sure can listen good
G
And the little man
A
Took his drink in his hand
Em D
And he raised it to his lips
G D
He took a couple sips
Em7 A D
And then he told the waitress this story
D Am C G D
I am the midnight watchman down at Miller's Tool and Die
G F#m Bm C
And I watch the metal rusting, I watch the time go by
A G F#m B7
A week ago at the diner I stopped to get a bite
Em A G Em7 A D
And this here lovely lady she sat two seats from my right
G G Em7 G G Em7 D
And Lord, lord, lord, (Lord, Lord, Lord) she was alright
D Am C G D
You see she was so damn beautiful that she could warm a winters frost
G F#m Bm C
But she looked long past lonely and well nigh onto lost
A G F#m B7
Now I'm not much of a mover or a pick'em up easy guy
Em A G Em7 D
But I decided to glide on over and give her one good try
G G Em7 G G Em7 D
And Lord, lord, lord, she was worth a try
D Am C G D
Well I was tongue tied like a schoolboy, I stammered out some words
G F#m Bm C
It did not seem to matter much 'cause I don't think she heard
A G F#m B7
She just looked clear on through me to a space back in my head
Em A G Em7 D
It shamed me into silence as quietly she said
D G
If you want me to come with you
Em Em – Em - Em
Then that's all right with me
A Em – Em - Em
'Cause I know I'm going no-where
A Em A7sus4 D
And anywhere's a better place to be
A Em A7sus4 D
Anywheres a better place to be
D D
Well, I drove her to my boarding house
D7 G
And I took her up to my room
Em Em
And I went to turn on the only light
Em A7
To brighten up the gloom
Dm
But she said, "Please leave the light off,
Gm
Oh, I don't mind the dark"
F
And as her clothes all tumbled 'round her
Asus4 A Asus4 - A - Asus4 - A
I could hear my heart
D Am C G D
The moonlight shone upon her as she lay back in my bed
G F#m Bm C
It was the kind of scene I only had imagined in my head
A G F#m B7
I just could not believe it to think that she was real
Em A G Em7 D
And as I tried to tell her, she said "Ssssh, I know just how you feel
D G
And if you want to come here with me
Em Em – Em - Em
Then that's all right with me
A Em – Em - Em
Cause I've been so lonely
A Em A7sus4 D
Lovin' someone is a better way to be
A Em A7sus4 D
Anywhere's a better place to be
D Am C G D
Well the mornin' came so swiftly I held her in my arms
G F#m Bm C
And she slept like a baby, snug and safe from harm
A G F#m B7
I did not want to share her or dare to break the mood
Em A G Dm
So before she woke I went out to buy us both some food
Dm Gm
I came back with my paper bag to find that she was gone
F Gm D
She'd left a six-word letter sayin' "It's time that I moved on"
D D D7 G
You know the waitress she took her bar rag and she wiped it across her eyes
Em Em Em A7
And as she spoke her voice came out as something like a sigh
D D D7 G
She said I wish that I was beautiful or that you were halfway blind
Em Em Em A7
And I wish I weren't so God-damned fat, I wish that you were mine
A7 G A F#m B7
And I wish that you'd come with me when I leave for home
Em A G Em D
For we both know all 'bout emptiness and livin' all alone
D Em7 F#m Em7
And the little man looked at the empty glass in his hand and he smiled a crooked in
Em7 D Em7 D G - Em7 - A
He said "I guess I'm out of gin and I know we both have been so lonely
D G Em
And if you want me to come with you then that's alright with me
A Em A Em7 A7 D D - G - D
'Cause I know I'm going no-where and anywhere's a better place to be
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