A

[Verse]
A
They called him Alexander
A
With the best band in the land
A
He'd topped the bill in Paris
A
But in Venice it was banned
A
A pile of dusty gold discs
A
Were among his claims to fame
A
There was no-one over sixty
A
Who did not know his name

[Chorus]
C         B7
Alexander you were great
    Em              C
The man the critics loved to hate
    D                             B7             Em
You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones
C         B7
Alexander you became
    Em                 C
The lonely housewife's favourite name
        D                                    Em
And you could have been the greatest of them all

[Verse]
A
The gig was held in honour
A
Of his golden jubilee
A
He did not need the money
A
So he said he'd play for free
A
He got the band together
A
Who'd been with him through the years
A
They rehearsed the Alexander songs
A
And shed nostalgic tears

[Chorus]
C         B7
Alexander you were great
    Em              C
The man the critics loved to hate
    D                             B7             Em
You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones
C         B7
Alexander you became
    Em                 C
The lonely housewife's favourite name
        D                                    Em
And you could have been the greatest of them all

[Verse]
A
The crowd rose to their feet
A
When Alexander hit the stage
A
His face had been rebuilt
A
So that you could not tell his age
A
He played all of the old songs
A
And the crowd sang every word
A
He danced like Margot Fonteyn
A
And whistled like a bird

[Chorus]
C         B7
Alexander you were great
    Em              C
The man the critics loved to hate
    D                             B7             Em
You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones
C         B7
Alexander you became
    Em                 C
The lonely housewife's favourite name
        D                                    Em
And you could have been the greatest of them all

[Verse]
A
He came on for the encore
A
But collapsed against the stand
A
The crowd was hushed, the doctor came
A
There was panic in the band
A
He diagnosed a broken heart
A
The critics had been fed
A
Their reviews became
A
Obituary notices instead

[Chorus]
C         B7
Alexander you were great
    Em              C
The man the critics loved to hate
    D                             B7             Em
You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones
C         B7
Alexander you became
    Em                 C
The lonely housewife's favourite name
        D                                    Em
And you could have been the greatest of them all

[Chorus]
C         B7
Alexander you were great
    Em              C
The man the critics loved to hate
    D                             B7             Em
You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones
C         B7
Alexander you became
    Em                 C
The lonely housewife's favourite name
        D                                    Em
And you could have been the greatest of them all