*Tune guitar down one step, but I think it sounds all right if you don't*
[Verse 1]
C F
Back in the old folky days
Am Em D
The air was magic when we played
C F
The river boat was rocking in the rain
Am Em D
Midnight was the time for the raid
G
Oh Isabella, proud Isabella
Am
They tore you down and plowed you under
Bm C
You're only real with your makeup on
G D
How could I see you and stay too long
C F
All along the Navajo Trail
Am Em D
burnouts stub their toes on garbage pails
C F
Waitresses crying in the rain
Am Em D
Will their boyfriends pass this way again?
G
Oh Mother Goose, she's on the skids
Am
Sure ain't happy, neither are the kids
Bm C
She needs someone that she can scream at
G D
And I'm such a heel for making her feel so bad
C F
I guess I'll call it sickness gone
Am Em D
It's hard to say the meaning to this song
C F
An ambulance can only go so fast
Am Em D
It's easy to get buried in the past
C F
When you try to make a good thing last
Am Em D
G
I saw today, in the entertainment section
Am
There's room at the top for private detection
Bm C
To Mom and Dad this just doesn't matter
G D
But it's either that or pay off the kidnappers
C F
So all you critics sit alone
Am Em D
You're no better than me for what you've shown
C F
With your stomach pump and your hook and ladder dreams
Am Em D
We could get together for some scenes
[Chorus]
G
I never knew a man could tell so many lies
Am
he had a different story for every set of eyes
Bm C
How can he remember who he's talking to?
G D G (hold)
Cause I know it ain't me and I hope it isn't you
[Verse 2]
G
Well I'm up in T.O. keepin' jive alive
Am
and out on the corner it's half past five
Bm C
But the subways are empty and so are the cafes
G D
Except for the Farmer's Market and I can still hear him sayin'
C F
"You're all just pissin' in the wind
Am Em D
You don't know it but you are"
C F
And there ain't nothing like a friend
Am Em D
Who can tell you you're just pissin' in the wind
[Chorus]
G
I never knew a man could tell so many lies
Am
he had a different story for every set of eyes
Bm C
How can he remember who he's talking to?
G D G (hold)
Cause I know it ain't me and I hope it isn't you