I Wanna Learn A Love Song
Harry ChapinVersion1
90
Chords in this song
Strum
D-DU-UDU
I come fresh from the street,
fast on my feet, kinda lean and lazy;
not much meat on my bones, and a whole lot alone,
and more than a little bit crazy.
The old six string was all I had
to keep my belly still,
and for each full hour lesson I gave
I got a crisp ten dollar bill.
She was married for seven years
to a concrete castle king.
She said she wanted to learn to play the guitar
and to hear her children sing.
So I'd show up about once a week
in my faded tight-legged jeans
with a backlog full of hobo stories
and dilapidated dreams.
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things."
She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?"
She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play."
She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away."
(The rest of the song is played in the same pattern. VERSE 3 has the same chords as
1, VERSE 4 and VERSE 5 have the same chords as VERSE 2, and the CHORUS chords are all the same.)
So I tried to teach her a couple of chords
and an easy melody;
but it always turned out she'd rather listen
to my guitar and me.
I could hear her old man laughing in the den,
playing stud poker with the boys
while I sang so soft in the living room,
to scared to make much noise.
I came one week and the den was dark
and she met me at the door.
And we sat on the couch and we sang and talked
till I could not sing no more.
The silence kept on building,
her eyes grew much too wide;
and I could her both of our heartbeats,
but there was no place to hide.
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things."
She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?"
She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play."
She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away."
Well, I guess you know what happened,
God, I never been so clean.
Yes, I feel like I'm working in a Hollywood movie
or living out a good bad dream.
And all them pinup girls in that tinsel world
never touched me like she can;
it took another man's wife in the real world life
to make this boy a man.
She said, "I wanna learn a love song full of happy things."
She said, "I wanna learn a love song; won't you let me hear you sing?"
She said, "I wanna learn a love song, I wanna hear you play."
She said, "I wanna learn a love song before you go away."
(let ring out)
I guess you know I stayed.
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Readable chord sheet for I Wanna Learn A Love Song by Harry Chapin
I come [Am7]fresh from the street, [D7]fast on my feet, [C]kinda [Am7]lean and [G]lazy; not much [Am7]meat on my bones, and a [D7]whole lot alone, and [C]more than a [Am7]little bit [G]crazy. The [Dm7/G]old six string was [C]all I had to [Am7]keep my belly still[Em], and for [Am7]each full hour [D7]lesson I gave I got a [C]crisp ten [Am7]dollar bill[G]. [Am7]She was married for [D7]seven years to a [C]concrete [Am7]castle [G]king. She said she [Am7]wanted to learn to [D7]play the guitar and to [C]hear her [Am7]children [G]sing. So [Dm7/G]I'd show up about [C]once a week in my [Am7]faded tight-legged [Em]jeans with a [Am7]backlog full of [D7]hobo stories and di[C]lapidated dreams. She said,[G] "I wanna learn a love song[Am7] full of happy things." She said,[D] "I wanna learn a love song; won't you [C]let me hear you sing?" She said, "I[G] wanna learn a love song[Am7], I wanna hear you play." She said, "I[D] wanna learn a love song be[C]fore you[Am7] go a[G]way." (The rest of the song is played in the same pattern. VERSE 3 has the same chords as 1, VERSE 4 and VERSE 5 have the same chords as VERSE 2, and the CHORUS chords are all the same.) So I tried to teach her a couple of chords and an easy melody; but it always turned out she'd rather listen to my guitar and me. I could hear her old man laughing in the den, playing stud poker with the boys while I sang so soft in the living room, to scared to make much noise. I came one week and the den was dark and she met me at the door. And we sat on the couch and we sang and talked till I could not sing no more. The silence kept on building, her eyes grew much too wide; and I could her both of our heartbeats, but there was no place to hide. She said,[G] "I wanna learn a love song[Am7] full of happy things." She said,[D] "I wanna learn a love song; won't you [C]let me hear you sing?" She said, "I[G] wanna learn a love song[Am7], I wanna hear you play." She said, "I[D] wanna learn a love song be[C]fore you[Am7] go a[G]way." Well, I guess you know what happened, God, I never been so clean. Yes, I feel like I'm working in a Hollywood movie or living out a good bad dream. And all them pinup girls in that tinsel world never touched me like she can; it took another man's wife in the real world life to make this boy a man. She said,[G] "I wanna learn a love song[Am7] full of happy things." She said,[D] "I wanna learn a love song; won't you [C]let me hear you sing?" She said, "I[G] wanna learn a love song[Am7], I wanna hear you play." She said, "I[D] wanna learn a love song be[C]fore you[Am7] go a[G]way." (l[C]et ring ou[Am7]t) [G] [C] [Am7] I guess you know I stayed.