xThis tab is 100% correct. I pulled it from the original songbook of "Verities &
published in 1974. It tooks me two years to find this book, and I bought it just for this song.
luck!
CHORDS USED
Am7 x02010
D7 xx0212
C x32010
G 3x0003 (or just regular G 320033)
Dm7/G 3x0211
Em 022000
"I WANNA LEARN A LOVE SONG" - Verities & Balderdash
Words and Music by HARRY CHAPIN
[VERSE 1]
Am7
I come fresh from the street,
D7 C Am7 G
fast on my feet, kinda lean and lazy; [OR kinda crass and corny - live version]
Am7 D7
not much meat on my bones, and a whole lot alone,
C Am7 G
and more than a little bit crazy. [OR more than a little bit horny]
Dm7/G C
The old six string was all I had
Am7 Em
to keep my belly still,
Am7 D7
and for each full hour lesson I gave
C Am7 G
I got a crisp ten dollar bill.
[VERSE 2]
Am7 D7
She was married for seven years
C Am7 G
to a concrete castle king.
Am7 D7
She said she wanted to learn to play the guitar
C Am7 G
and to hear her children sing.
Dm7/G C
So I'd show up about once a week
Am7 Em
in my faded tight-legged jeans
Am7 D7
with a backlog full of hobo stories
C Am7 G
and dilapidated dreams.
[CHORUS]
G Am7
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things."
D C
She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?"
G Am7
She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play."
D C Am7 G
She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away."
[VERSE 3]
Am7 D7
So I tried to teach her a couple of chords
C Am7 G
and an easy melody;
Am7 D7
but it always turned out she'd rather listen
C Am7 G
to my guitar and me.
Dm7/G C
I could hear her old man laughing in the den,
Am7 Em
playing stud poker with the boys
Am7 D7
while I sang so soft in the living room,
C Am7 G
too scared to make much noise.
[VERSE 4]
Am7 D7
I came one week and the den was dark
C Am7 G
and she met me at the door.
Am7 D7
And we sat on the couch and we sang and talked
Dm7/G G
'til I could not sing no more.
Dm7/G G
The silence kept on building,
Am7 Em
her eyes grew much too wide;
Am7 D7
and I could hear both of our heartbeats,
C Am7 G
but there was no place to hide.
[CHORUS]
G Am7
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things."
D C
She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?"
G Am7
She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play."
D C Am7 G
She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away."
[VERSE 5]
Am7 D7
Well, I guess you know what happened,
C Am7 G
God, I never been so clean.
Am7 D7
Yes, I feel like I'm working in a Hollywood movie
Dm7/G G
or living out a good bad dream.
Dm7/G G
And all them pinup girls in that tinsel world
Am7 Em
never touched me like she can;
Am7 D7
it took another man's wife in the real world life
C Am7 G
to make this boy a man.
[CHORUS]
G Am7
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things."
D C
She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?"
G Am7
She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play."
D C Am7 G
She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away."
C Am7 G C Am7
(let ring out)
I guess you know I stayed.
