G    E   E*  F    C    C*   Am  C/B   

E|---0----0---0---0----0----0----0---0--|
B|---3----0---0---1----1----1----1---1--|
G|---0----1---2---2----0----0----2---0--|
D|---0----2---2---3----2----2----2---0--|
A|---2----2---2---3----3----3----0---2--|
E|---3----0---0-------------3-----------|


[Intro:] C* (strum and pause)

Then:  C, E, Am, F


[Intro/Chorus]
                       C
This is the story of a man
                          E           E*
Who took for granted everything he had
                           Am
And how he let it all just slip away
           F~
Never to return again

(Note that the E* is just a quick hammer-on on the 2nd fret of the G-string)


[Verse I:]
                               C
Now twenty years have come and gone
                             Am
And still he wonders what he did so wrong
                        F
And how that he can win back her heart
                         G
And finally step outside of the dark

                          C
He buys fresh roses every day
                    C/B    Am
Her favorite flower so she used to say
                              F
And now the memories all that he has left
                              G
And I'm afraid he'll drink himself to death


[Chorus:]
                       C
This is the story of a man
                          E
Who took for granted everything he had
                           Am
And how he let it all just slip away
           F
Never to return again
C    E
Ooh
Am   F~
Ooh


[Verse II:]
                                C
It's clear she's moved on long ago
                            Am
But he still clings on to a distant hope
                            F
That she’ll come and make a happy home
                                G
For now it's him and the bottle all alone
                                C
Sometimes you'll see him in the yard
              C/B    Am
A wounded man with a desperate heart
                            F
He keeps the hedges trimmed nice and neat
                              G
To keep them the way that the used to be


[Chorus:]
                       C
This is the story of a man
                          E
Who took for granted everything he had
                           Am
And how he let it all just slip away
           F
Never to return again
C    E
Ooh
Am   F~
Ooh


[Outro:]
                            C
A single dress hangs on its own
                            Am
The scent of perfume all he has to hold
                      F
A wasted life waiting on a dream
                               G
Hoping for things the way they used to be
                       C
This is the story of a man
                          E
Who took for granted everything he had
                           Am
And how he let it all just slip away
           F
Never to return again