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Better Place To Be
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It was an eDarly morning baDmaj7rroom
And the plaD7ce had just opened Gmaj7up
Em Em/D#
And a little man came in so fast
And hEm/De started at his cupsA7
And the brDoad who served the whDmaj7iskey
She was a D7big old friendly Gmaj7girl
Em Em/D#
Who tried to fight her empty nights
By Em/Dsmiling at the worldA7
And she Gsaid "Hey, bub, it's bAeen a while
F#mSince you've been around B7
Where the Emhell you been hidiAng
And wGhy you look so downD
Well, the Glittle man sAat there
Like he'd neGver heAard a soundD
The wCmaitress she gave out Gwith a cough
And Bbacting not the least Fput off she spoke Emonce agAain
She said D"I don't want to bothGer you
Em/G Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
Consider it's understood
A/C# Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
I know I'm not no beauty queen
But I A/C#sure cEman lA7sus4isten goodD
And the Glittle man
Took his Adrink in his hand
And he rEmaised it to his lipsD
He Gtook a couple sips D
And then he Em7told the waitAress this sDtory
I Dam the midnight watchmAman down at CMiller's GTool and DieD
And I watch Gthe metal rusF#mting, I Bmwatch the time go byCmaj7
A Aweek ago at the dinGer I F#mstopped to get a biteB7
And tEmhis here lovely laAdy she sat Gtwo seatEm7s from A11my Dright
G G/F# Em7 G G/ F# Em7 D
And Lord, lord, lord, (Lord, Lord, Lord) she was alright
YoDu see she was so damn Ambeautiful that she could waCrm a wiGnters froDst
But sGhe looked long past lF#monely and wBmell nigh onto Cmaj7lost
Now IA'm not much of a moGver or a piF#mck'em up easy B7guy
But I deEmcided to glide on ovAer and give hGer Em7one good tDry
G G/F# Em7 G G/ F# Em7 D
And Lord, lord, lord, (Lord, Lord, Lord) she was worth a try
WeDll I was tongue tied like a schAmoolboy, I stamCmered oGut some woDrds
It did nGot seem to mF#matter much 'cause BmI don't think she Cmaj7heard
She juAst looked clear on thrGough me to a sF#mpace back in my hB7ead
It shEmamed me into silAence as quiGetly Em7she sDaid
If you wDant me to come wGith you
Em/G Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
Then that's all right with me
A/C# Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
'Cause I know I'm going no-where
And aA/C#nywhere's a Embetter A7sus4place to Dbe
D- G- G/F#- Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
A- Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
A
A/C#Anywheres a Embetter plA7sus4ace to Dbe
Well, I Ddrove her to my boaDmaj7rding house
And I D7took her up to my roomGmaj7
Em Em/D#
And I went to turn on the only light
Em/DTo brighten up the gloomA7
But she Dmsaid, "Please leave the light off,
Oh, GmI don't mind the dark
And as her clFothes all tumbled 'round her
Asus4 A Asus4- A- Asus4- A
I could hear my heart
The Dmoonlight shone uAmpon her as she lCay back Gin my bDed
It was the Gkind of scene I F#monly had imaBmgined in my Cmaj7head
I Ajust could not Gbelieve it to F#mthink that she was rB7eal
And aEms I tried to tAell her, she said "SssGsh, I knEm7ow just how you fDeel
And if you Dwant to come here Gwith me
Em/G Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
Then that's all right with me
A/C# Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
Cause I've been so lonely
Lovin' sA/C#omeone is a bEmetter waA7sus4y to beD
D- G- G/F#- Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
A- Em- Em/ D#- Em/D
A
A/C#Anywhere's a Embetter A7sus4place to Dbe
Well the Dmornin' came so Amswiftly I Cheld her Gin my aDrms
And sGhe slept like a F#mbaby, Bmsnug and safe from Cmaj7harm
I Adid not want to shGare her or F#mdare to break the mB7ood
So befEmore she woke I Awent out to Gbuy us both some fDmood
I cDmame back with my paper bag to Gmfind that she was gone
She'd Fleft a six-word letter sayin' "It's tGmime that I moved Don"
You know the Dwaitress she took her baDmaj7r rag and she wiD7ped it across her eyeGmaj7s
Em Em/ D# Em/D A7
And as she spoke her voice came out as something like a sigh
She said I wDish that I was Dmaj7beautiful or that yD7ou were halfway bGmaj7lind
Em Em/ D# Em/D A7
And I wish I weren't so God-damned fat, I wish that you were mine
A7And I wish Gthat you'd come wiAth me F#mwhen I leave for homeB7
For we Emboth know all 'bout empAtiness and Glivin' Emall alone D
And the Em7little man looked at the F#mempty glass in his hand and he smiEm7led a crooked grinD
Em7 D Em7 D/F# G- Em7- A
He said "I guess I'm out of gin and I know we both have been so lonely
And if you wDant me to come Gwith you then that's alright with Emme
A Em A Em7 A7 D Dmaj7- Gmaj7- D
'Cause I know I'm going no-where and anywhere's a better place to be
All chords in this song (24)
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Better Place To Be
by Harry Chapin
Chords in this song · guitar
D
Dmaj7
D7
Gmaj7
Em
D#
Em/D
A7
G
A
F#m
B7
Cm
Bb
F
Em/G
A/C#
A7sus4
Em7
Am
C
Bm
Cmaj7
A11
D Dmaj7
It was an early morning barroom
D7 Gmaj7
And the place had just opened up
Em Em D#
/
And a little man came in so fast
Em/D A7
And he started at his cups
D Dmaj7
And the broad who served the whiskey
D7 Gmaj7
She was a big old friendly girl
Em Em D#
/
Who tried to fight her empty nights
Em/D A7
By smiling at the world
G A
And she said "Hey, bub, it's been a while
F#m B7
Since you've been around
Em A
Where the hell you been hiding
G D
And why you look so down
G A
Well, the little man sat there
G A D
Like he'd never heard a sound
Cm G
The waitress she gave out with a cough
Bb F Em A
And acting not the least put off she spoke once again
D G
She said "I don't want to bother you
Em/G Em Em D# Em/D
- / -
Consider it's understood
A/C# Em Em D# Em/D
- / -
I know I'm not no beauty queen
A/C# Em A7sus4 D
But I sure can listen good
G
And the little man
A
Took his drink in his hand
Em D
And he raised it to his lips
G D
He took a couple sips
Em7 A D
And then he told the waitress this story
D Am C G D
I am the midnight watchman down at Miller's Tool and Die
G F#m Bm Cmaj7
And I watch the metal rusting, I watch the time go by
A G F#m B7
A week ago at the diner I stopped to get a bite
Em A G Em7 A11 D
And this here lovely lady she sat two seats from my right
G G/F# Em7 G G F# Em7 D
/
And Lord, lord, lord, (Lord, Lord, Lord) she was alright
D Am C G D
You see she was so damn beautiful that she could warm a winters frost
G F#m Bm Cmaj7
But she looked long past lonely and well nigh onto lost
A G F#m B7
Now I'm not much of a mover or a pick'em up easy guy
Em A G Em7 D
But I decided to glide on over and give her one good try
G G/F# Em7 G G F# Em7 D
/
And Lord, lord, lord, (Lord, Lord, Lord) she was worth a try
D Am C G D
Well I was tongue tied like a schoolboy, I stammered out some words
G F#m Bm Cmaj7
It did not seem to matter much 'cause I don't think she heard
A G F#m B7
She just looked clear on through me to a space back in my head
Em A G Em7 D
It shamed me into silence as quietly she said
D G
If you want me to come with you
Em/G Em Em D# Em/D
- / -
Then that's all right with me
A/C# Em Em D# Em/D
- / -
'Cause I know I'm going no-where
A/C# Em A7sus4 D
And anywhere's a better place to be
D G G/F# Em Em D# Em/D
- - - - / -
A Em Em D# Em/D
- - / -
A
A/C# Em A7sus4 D
Anywheres a better place to be
D Dmaj7
Well, I drove her to my boarding house
D7 Gmaj7
And I took her up to my room
Em Em D#
/
And I went to turn on the only light
Em/D A7
To brighten up the gloom
Dm
But she said, "Please leave the light off,
Gm
Oh, I don't mind the dark
F
And as her clothes all tumbled 'round her
Asus4 A Asus4 A Asus4 A
- - -
I could hear my heart
D Am C G D
The moonlight shone upon her as she lay back in my bed
G F#m Bm Cmaj7
It was the kind of scene I only had imagined in my head
A G F#m B7
I just could not believe it to think that she was real
Em A G Em7 D
And as I tried to tell her, she said "Ssssh, I know just how you feel
D G
And if you want to come here with me
Em/G Em Em D# Em/D
- / -
Then that's all right with me
A/C# Em Em D# Em/D
- / -
Cause I've been so lonely
A/C# Em A7sus4 D
Lovin' someone is a better way to be
D G G/F# Em Em D# Em/D
- - - - / -
A Em Em D# Em/D
- - / -
A
A/C# Em A7sus4 D
Anywhere's a better place to be
D Am C G D
Well the mornin' came so swiftly I held her in my arms
G F#m Bm Cmaj7
And she slept like a baby, snug and safe from harm
A G F#m B7
I did not want to share her or dare to break the mood
Em A G Dm
So before she woke I went out to buy us both some food
Dm Gm
I came back with my paper bag to find that she was gone
F Gm D
She'd left a six-word letter sayin' "It's time that I moved on"
D Dmaj7 D7 Gmaj7
You know the waitress she took her bar rag and she wiped it across her eyes
Em Em D# Em/D A7
/
And as she spoke her voice came out as something like a sigh
D Dmaj7 D7 Gmaj7
She said I wish that I was beautiful or that you were halfway blind
Em Em D# Em/D A7
/
And I wish I weren't so God-damned fat, I wish that you were mine
A7 G A F#m B7
And I wish that you'd come with me when I leave for home
Em A G Em D
For we both know all 'bout emptiness and livin' all alone
Em7 F#m Em7 D
And the little man looked at the empty glass in his hand and he smiled a crooked grin
Em7 D Em7 D/F# G Em7 A
- -
He said "I guess I'm out of gin and I know we both have been so lonely
D G Em
And if you want me to come with you then that's alright with me
A Em A Em7 A7 D Dmaj7 Gmaj7 D
- -
'Cause I know I'm going no-where and anywhere's a better place to be
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About Better Place To Be Chords by Harry Chapin
Learn how to play Better Place To Be by Harry Chapin with free guitar chords, lyrics, and interactive chord diagrams. Search for “Better Place To Be chords”, “Better Place To Be guitar chords”, or “Harry Chapin Better Place To Be chords” and you will find this page — transpose to any key, tap chords for diagrams, and use auto-scroll while you play. Perfect for beginners looking for easy Better Place To Be chords and for experienced players who want accurate Better Place To Be lyrics and chords in one place. Common chords in this song include D, Dmaj7, D7, Gmaj7, Em, D#.
FAQ — Better Place To Be by Harry Chapin
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The chords for "Better Place To Be" show the original chord names (including D, Dmaj7, D7, Gmaj7, Em, D#). Use transpose to move the song into any key that fits your voice or capo.