Stranger With The Melodies

main pattern repeats through out song (note variations at end of choruses):
 [D]                 [D/G]               [D/E]               [D/A]
e|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|----3---|2---0---|
B|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|--3---3-|--2---3-|
G|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|-2-2-2-2|-3-3-2-2|
D|0-------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
A|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|0-------|--------|
E|--------|--------|3-------|----(2)-|0-------|--------|--------|--------|

end of verse progression:
     [A]             [A7]            [A6]            [A]
[E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]   [E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]   [E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]   [E] [A] [D] [G] [B] [E]
o-o-------o   o-o--------   o-o--------   o-o-------o
| | | | | |   | | | | | |   | | | | | |   | | | | | |
| | 2 2 2 |   | | 2 2 2 |   | | 2 2 2 2   | | 2 2 2 |
| | | | | |   | | | | | 3   | | | | | |   | | | | | |
| | | | | |   | | | | | |   | | | | | |   | | | | | |

other verse pattern (I don't know the pick pattern, so I just strum these):
[Bm]  [F]   [Am]  [Em]
[F]   [Em]  [G]   [A]   [A7]  [A6]  [A]

last chord:
     [D]
[E]x [A]o [D]o [G]   [B]     [E]
| | | | | |
| | | 7 7 |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | 10

[D]   [D/G]  [D/E]  [D/A]
[D]   [D/G]  [D/E]  [D/A]

It was my [D]first night in that roomin' house,
in the [D/G]last room down the hall.
I heard a [D/E]hoarse voice, and an old guitar,
[D/A]comin' through the paper thin walls.
[D]  A crazy nonsense nursery rhyme,
it [D/G]did not mean a thing.
But for the [D/E]first of what was to be a thousand times,
[D/A]this is what I heard him sing.

     Hold that "[D]D" chord on the old guitar,
     [D/G]    'till I find the "G."
     Drop it [D/E]down to old "E" minor,
     'till the "[D/A]A" chord rolls back home around to "[D]D."    [D/A]

I [D]had to lay there listening, it [D/G]seemed he was in the room.
The [D/E]stranger with the melodies, [D/A]singin' there in the gloom.
And he [Bm]repeated it over and over again, such a [F]soft and sinking sound.
It was [Am]kind of like a music box that was [Em]slowly windin' down.
And he [F]sang it, he hummed it, he [Em]whistled it, and he strummed it.
He [G]laughed it, and he cried it.  He did [A]anything but hide it.   [A]       [A7]           [A6]

     [A]Hold that "[D]D" chord on the old guitar,
     [D/G]    'till I find the "G."
     Drop it [D/E]down to old "E" minor,
     'till the "[D/A]A" chord rolls back home around to [D]me.    [D/A]

So I [D]lay there in that lumpy bed, counted [D/G]choruses instead of sheep,
'till I [D/E]banged on the wall and out I called, "Hey [D/A]bub, I need some sleep."
 [D]  A sudden void of silence, then I [G]heard that hoarse voice say,
 [E] "It weren't so long ago, boy, [A]they paid me to [D]play.              [D/A]
So I [D]said, "It's kind of late for music, sir.  Two [D/G]hours 'till it's daylight."
He [D/E]answered, "I need my music most in these [D/A]dark hours of the night.
You see I've [Bm]tried gettin' high on somethin', son; it [F]only brings me down.
Stayin' [Am]dry don't work out better, boy, 'cause my [Em]eyes get wet and I drown.
Won't you [F]please let me continue, and [Em]I'll be in your debt.
You see I'm [G]not singin' to remember, son.  I'm just [A]  singin' to [A]forget.[A7]    [A6]

     [A]Hold that "[D]D" chord on the old guitar,
     [D/G]    'till I find the "G."
     Drop it [D/E]down to old "E" minor,
     'till the "[D/A]A" chord rolls back home around to [D]me. [D]          [D]                   [A]

That's when I [C]said, if I'm supposed to [G]listen to you, sir,
[C]one quick question, [G]then.
[F]Why in the hell do you [C]sing one song, [A]over and over again?

(spoken) And this is what he said.

[D]    [D]    [D]  I gave her the music, son.  [D]Sh[G]e gave me the words.
To[D/E]gether we'd write the kinds of songs the [D/A]angels must have heard.
Of [D]course, we'd fight like cats and dogs; [D/G]life ain't no rosebud dream.
Still, where [D/E]ever we'd go, everybody'd know, we were [D/A]truly a team.
I can't re[D]member now if I'd done her wrong, or if [D/G]she'd done wrong to me.
Still, [D/E]all I know is when I let her go, it [D/A]did not set me free.
That's when I [Bm]said, "You sound like what's-his-name."
He [F]said, "That's who I am.
But you [Am]can't wrap a name around you boy,
'cause it [Em]really don't mean a damn.
You see, a [F]song don't have no meanin', when it [Em]don't have nothin' to say.
What [G]she could do was magic, son.  All [A]I can do is [A]play.[A7]    [A6]         [A]
He started [D]singin' again, that's when I drifted off,
and [D/G]maybe I'd dreamed what I'd heard,
about the [D/E]stranger with the melodies,
who'd [D/A]gone and lost the words.

     Hold that "[D]D" chord on the old guitar,
     [D/G]    'till I find the "G."
     Drop it [D/E]down to old "E" minor,
     'till the "[D/A]A" chord rolls back home around to "[D]D."    [D]