A LOT LIKE ME (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
-------------------------------------
[Actually in F; capo 5, I think.  Each chord is one measure, except two
chords joined by a hyphen (e.g., "F - G") are one measure _total_.]

C  C  F  F  G  G  C  G    C  C  F  F  G  G  C  G
[intro]

         C                       C                         F                F
He was a long tall stranger from way down south where he'd left his life behind
         Dm                   G                C            G
He had a big old Gibson and a pickup truck and Shenandoah eyes
      C                            Em                F                   F
And I remember him sitting in that local bar where I earned my pay each night
Dm                   G               F  -  G         C      G
Singing my songs to empty chairs and going home half tight

       C                     C                       F                  F
So the nights rolled by like headlights shining on a lonesome strip of tar
           Dm                G                  C              G
I kept his words of kindness close to me like a pick on my guitar; And we
C                                Em                     F                   F
Talked about the singers and the songs we loved and the songs we'd most forgot
        Dm                  G                   F    -   G       C
In that run-down bar they'd make last call and I'd never want to stop

             F                       G
'Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams
        C   -   Em           F
With my cowboy boots and my old six-string
Dm                   G         C     -     Em            F
  Hitching my wagon to a star, dreaming of leaving those local bars
      C                Em/B               Am    -    G            F
When I'd get him up at closing time for a couple of songs and a chance to shine
         Dm                      G              F    -   G
Like the star that he longed to be, he looked a helluva lot like me
C  C  F  F  G  G  C  G
(me) [instrumental]

He'd played a lot of places where the only wages were food and beer for free
No fancy licks, but he had him a gift for the kind of songs he'd sing
But you do what you can to be a satisfied man, just to have your peace of mind
So he gave it all up for a government job where the paychecks come on time

So now he comes to the bar to hear me play guitar and to share a drink or two
And we sit swapping tales of where we've been and what we'd rather do
There's a wealth of danger when you're talking to strangers, and I meet them
  all the time
But my heart knew better than my head when I looked into those eyes

'Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams with my cowboy boots
  and my old six-string
Hitching my wagon to a star, dreaming of leaving those local bars
When I'd get him up at closing time for a couple of songs and a chance to shine
Like the star that he longed to be, he looked a hell of a lot like me

C  C  F  F   G  G  C  G    C  Em  F  F   Dm  G  F-G  C
[violin solo]              [harmonica solo]

Well, maybe I'll quit when I got me a kid and a place to call my own
But tonight there ain't nobody there waiting up for me at home
It's a hell of a way to live from day to day not knowing where you're bound
But the look in his eyes made me realize I was glad for the life I'd found

'Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams with my cowboy boots
  and my old six-string
Hitching my wagon to a star, dreaming of leaving those local bars
When I'd get him up at closing time for a couple of songs and a chance to shine
         Dm                      G              F    -     G       Am
Like the star that he longed to be, he looked a hell of a lot like me
         Dm                    G               F    -     G
Like the star that he'd always be, he looked a hell of a lot like me
C  C  F  F  G  G  C  C.
(me) [instrumental]


- Adam Schneider, schneider@pobox.com