Sequel
Words and Music by Harry Chapin
G Em
So here she's actin' happy
D Bm
Inside her handsome home
G D
And me, I'm flyin' in my taxi,
C Bb D
Takin' tips and gettin' stoned.
D Am
I got into town a little early.
D Am D Am
Had eight hours to kill before the show,
D Am D Am
First I thought about heading up north of the bay
C Bb D Am - D - Am
Then I knew where I had to go.
D Am
I thought about taking a limousine
D Am
Or at least a fancy car.
D Am
But I ended up taking a taxi
C Bb D Am - D - Am
'Cause that's how I got this far.
G Em7
You see, ten years ago it was the front seat
D Bm
Drivin' stoned and feelin' no pain.
G D
Now here I am straight and sittin' in the back
C Bb D Am - D - Am
Hitting Sixteen Parkside Lane.
(C - Bb - D
D - C - E - Bm7 - E - Bm7)
E Bm7 E Bm7
The driveway was the same as I remembered
E Bm7 E Bm7
And a butler came and answered the door.
E Bm7 E Bm7
He just shook his head when I asked for her
D7 Am E
And said "She doesn't live here anymore."
D7 - Am - E
E Bm7 E Bm7
But he offered to give me the address
E Bm7 E Bm7
That they were forwarding her letters to
E Bm7 E
I just took it and returned to the cabbie
Bm7 D7 Am E
And said "I got one more fare for you."
(D7 - Am - E)
E G
And so we rolled back into the city
A C
Up to a five story old brownstone
D E
I rang the bell that had her name on the mailbox.
D7 Am E
The buzzer said somebody's home.
(finger picked, not strummed)
(D7 - Am - E - D7 - Am - E )
E G
And the look on her face as she opened the door
A C
Was like an old joke told by a friend.
D E
It'd taken ten more years but she'd found her smile
D7 Am E E7
And I watched the corners start to bend
A F#m
And she said, "How are you Harry?
E E7 (5th fret) E7sus (5th fret)
Haven't we played this scene before?"
A E
I said "It's so good to see you, Sue
D7 Am E
Had to play it out just once more."
D7 Am E
Play it out just once more.
E - Bm7 - E - Bm7 - D7 - Am - E
E
She said I've heard you flying high on my radio
E
I answered "It's not all it seems"
E
That's when she laughed and she said, "It's better sometimes
D7 Am E
When we don't get to touch our dreams.'
(finger picked, not strummed)
(D7 - Am - E - D7 - Am - E)
A F#m
That's when I asked her where was that actress
E E7 (5th fret) E7sus (5th fret)
She said "That was somebody else"
A E
And then I asked her why she looked so happy now
D7 E (4th fret)
She said "I finally like myself, at last I like myself."
B6 - Bm6 - Bm6/9 - A6 - Am6 - Am - E
E
So we talked all through that afternoon
B6
Talking about where we'd been
Bm6
We talked of the tiny difference
Bm6/9
Between ending and starting to begin.
A6
We talked because talking tells you things.
Am6
Like what you really are thinking about.
Am
But sometimes you can't find what you're feeling
E
Till all the words run out.
(E - Bm7 - E - Bm7 - E - Bm7 - E - Bm7)
E Bm7 E Bm7
So I asked her to come to the concert.
E Bm7 E Bm7
She said "No, I work at night."
E Bm7 E Bm7
I said, "We've gotten too damn good at leaving, Sue"
D7 Am E
She said, "Harry, you're right"
(finger picked, not strummed)
D7 - Am - E - D7 - Am - E
A F#m
Don't ask me if I made love to her
E E7 (5th fret) E7sus (5th fret)
Or which one of us started to cry
A E
Don't ask me why she wouldn't take the money that I left
D7 Am E
If I answered at all I'd lie.
D7 - Am - E
C - Bb - D - Am - D - Am
D Am D Am
So I thought about her as I sang that night
D Am D Am
And how the circle keeps rolling around.
D Am D Am
How I act as I'm facing the footlights
C Bb D Am - D - Am
And how she's flying with both feet on the ground
G Em
I guess it's a sequel to our story
D Bm
From the journey 'tween heaven and hell
G D
With half the time thinking of what might have been
C Bb D Am - D - Am
And half thinkin' just as well
Em A D Am - D - Am - D - Am - D
I guess only time will tell.
