Harry Chapin - I Wanna Learn a Love Song

I come fresh from the street,
Fast on my feet, kind a 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."

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,