INTRO: G  C  G  C

 
You old street singer, some call you a bum
G                                      C
Sitting on a park bench soaking up the sun
                                G
Singing to the children and the people passing by
                                                 C      F
With a bottle in a paper bag and a banjo at your side


                                C
Anyone would know you if they'd take the time to look
F                C                                     G
Underneath those ragged clothes they'd read you like a book
       C                        F
They'd see it in your eyes, the corners of your smile
        C                G                              C      G   C
There's more to this old street bum than too many dusty miles



The motel room must get so very small
  G                                   C
A bed and a chair and memories on the wall
                            G
In a city full of strangers far away from times
                                               C      F
You've made that banjo ring in across a picket line


                      C                  F
You go downstairs and out on the street
          C                        G     C
Sit there waiting for everyone you meet
                      G
Some they ignore you, some they ask you why
                                                  C     
Some they dance to the tune you're playing to the sky


INTERLUDE: C  G  C  G  C


                            G
Passing through a city, one day you'll see him there
                                               C
Stop and listen to his tunes, let him know you hear
                                               G
Put a dollar in the box that sits there at his feet
                                             C     
Tip your hat to the man who's singing in the street


       F                              C                  
'Cause if you stop and listen, you'll hear it every time
F         C                              G
Melodies around you, the rhythms and the rhymes
       C                            F
In the stares of passing strangers, questions of the young
    C            G                               C          
The barking of a stray dog and the memories of a street bum
                 G                               C          
The barking of a stray dog and the memories of a street bum