Stranger With The Melodies
Words and Music by Harry Chapin

It was my first night in that roomin' house
In the last room down the hall
I heard a hoarse voice and an old guitar
Comin' through the paper thin wall

A crazy nonsense nursery rhyme
That did not mean a thing
But for the first of what was to be a thousand times
This is what I heard him sing

Hold that D chord on the old guitar
'Till I found the G
Drop it down to old E-minor
'Till the A chord rolls back home around to D

I had to lay there listening
It seemed he was in my room
This stranger with his melody
Singin' there in the gloom

And he repeated it over and over again
Such a soft and sinkin' sound
It was kinda like a music box
That was slowly windin' down

You see he sang it, he hummed it
He whistled it, and he strummed it
He laughed it and he cried it
He did everything but hide it

And he sang hold that D chord on the old guitar
'Till I found the G
Drop it down to old E-minor
'Till the A chord rolls back home around for me

So I laid there in that lumpy bed
Countin' choruses instead of sheep
'Till I banged on the wall
And out I called "Hey Bub, I need some sleep"

A sudden void of silence
Then I heard that hoarse voice say
It weren't so long ago boy
They paid me to play

I said it's kinda late for music sir
Two hours 'till it's day light
He answered I need my music most
In these dark hours of the night

You see I've tried gettin' high on something son
But it only brings me down
Stayin' dry don't work out better boy
'Cause my eyes get wet and I drown

Won't you please let me continue
And I'll be in your debt
See I'm not singing to remember son
I'm just singing to forget

And he sang hold that D chord on the old guitar
'Till I found the G
Drop it down to old E-minor
'Till the A chord rolls back home around for me

That's when I said if I'm supposed to listen to you sir
Just one quick question then
Why in the hell do you sing one song
Over and over again?

And this is what he said...

He said, I gave her the music son
She gave me the words
Together we'd write the kind of songs
That angels musta heard

Of course we'd fight like cats and dogs
But life ain't no rosebud dream
But still what ever we'd do everybody knew
We truly were a team

I can't remember now if I'd done her wrong
Or if she done wrong to me
But all I know's that when I let her go
That it did not set me free

That's when I said you sound like what's his name
He said that's who I am
But you can't wrap a name around you boy
'Cause it really don't mean a damn

You see a song don't have much meaning
When it don't have nothing to say
What she could do was magic son
All I could do was play

He started singing again, that's when I drifted off
Maybe I dreamed what I heard
About this stranger with his melody
Who'd gone and lost the words

Hold that D chord on the old guitar
'Till I found the G
Drop it down to old E-minor
'Till the A chord rolls back home around to D...