&quot;Piano Man&quot; was Billy Joel's first major hit and is considered Joel's signature song. The verses of the song are sung from the point of view of a bar piano player who focuses mainly on everyone else at the bar: John the bartender, the waitress, and bar regulars like Paul and Davy. Most of these characters have unfulfilled dreams, and the pianist's job, it seems, is to help them &quot;forget about life for a while&quot;.

The Essential Billy Joel

Waltzing rhythm 6/8

INTRO
C G Am C F C D G
C G Am C F G C C F F

FIRST VERSE: 
    C      G           Am      C        
Its nine o'clock on a saturday      
    F	      C         D        G          
The regular crowd shuffles in
	   C      G         Am         C	        
There's an old man  sitting next to me  	
        F          G         C      C
Making love to his tonic and gin 

C  G  Am  C  F  G  C  C  F  F

        C           G         Am     C 	    
He says son can you play me a memory   	
     F          C           D      G
I'm not really sure how it goes
          C           G           Am           C    
But it's sad and its sweet and I knew it complete 
     F        G             C	     C
when I wore a younger man's clothes 

Am    C		  D7   D7   Am        
La da da     de de Da               
   C            D7  D7 	  G  G7 G(3) G7(3)
da da     de de Da     da DA


CHORUS: 
C	  G 	         Am        C   
Sing us a song you're the piano man     
F         C       D     G
Sing us a song tonight
            C          G          Am     C     
Well we're all in the mood for a melody   
    F             G           C     C
and you've got us feeling all right

C G Am C F G C C F F C C F F

VERSE 2

VERSE 3


PIANO SOLO

CHORUS

VERSE 4

CHORUS

CODA

intro-
        C  G/B  Am  Am/G  F  C/E  D  G  
        C  G/B  Am  Am/G  F  F/G  C
        F/C  G/C  F/C  C  F/C  G/C  F/C

       C   G/B         Am       Am/G
   Its 9 o'clock on a saturday
        F       C/E            D  G
   The regular crowd shuffles in 
               C     G/B       Am        Am/G
   Theres and old man sittin' next to me 
           F          F/G       C
   Makin love to his tonic can gin

   (Fill 1: C  G/B  Am  Am/G  F  F/G C) F/C
            C         G/B       Am      Am/G
   He says son can u play me a memory?
        F         C/E           D   G
   I'm not really sure how it goes
            C           G/B          Am      Am/G
   But its sad and its sweet and i knew it complete 
        F        F/G            C
   When i wore a younger mans clothes

   Am  Am/G  Am/F#  F  Am  Am/G  D D7  G F Em  G
   (la la la....)


  and then the rest of the song goes like that 

Piano Man

Piano Man, simplified in a chord-melody style. I kept the vocal melody on the highest strings, and built the chords underneath it. This is kind of a "bare bones" arrangement, but there's enough here to work with, if you wanted to perform it.

Both verse and chorus use these changes:

          C           Em7            Am(m6)        C             F          
A||--10-|-10------10-|-10--8---7---|-8-----------|-------------|-3---3---3---|
E||-----|-8----------|-7-----------|-8-12-8------|-8-------8---|-1-----------|
C||-----|-9----------|-7-----------|-9-----------|-7-----------|-0-----------|
G||-----|-0----------|-0-----------|-------------|-5-----------|-2-----------|
          *   *   *    *   *   *     *    *   *    *   *   *     *   *   * 
  
  C             D7            G             C            Em7           Am(m6)                        
|-3---3---5---|-5-----------|---------10--|-10------10-|-10--8---7--|-8-----------|
|-0-----------|-5-----------|-7-----------|-8----------|-7----------|-8-12-8------|
|-0-----------|-7-----------|-7-----------|-9----------|-7----------|-9-----------|
|-0-----------|-5-----------|-7-----------|-0----------|-0----------|-------------|
  *   *   *     *   *   *     *   *   *     *   *   *    *   *   *    *    *   * 

  C             F            G7           C         F         Em        A7
|-------------|-0-------8--|-8---7------|-3-------|---------|---------|---------||
|-8-------5---|-1----------|-7-------8--|-0-------|-1-------|-3-------|-3-------||
|-7-----------|-0----------|-7----------|-0-------|-0-------|-4-------|-2-------||
|-5-----------|-2----------|-7----------|-0-------|-2-------|-0-------|-0-------||
  *   *   *     *   *  *    *   *   *     *  *  *    *  *  *  *  *  *   *  *  *

And then the "La - De - Da" part goes like this:

  Am            Am7           D7            F             Am                    
|-0-----------|-0---2---3---|-2-----------|-0-----------|-0-----------|
|-0-----------|-0-----------|-2-----------|-1-----------|-0-----------|
|-0-----------|-0-----------|-2-----------|-0-----------|-0-----------|
|-2-----------|-0-----------|-2---2-------|-2-----------|-2-----------|
  *   *   *     *   *   *     *   *   *     *   *   *     *   *   *    

  Am7           D7                       G          G7        CMaj7     G7
|-0---2---3--|-2----------|-2----------|-10-------|-8-------|-7-------|-5-------||
|-0----------|-2----------|-2-------3--|-7--------|-7-------|-7-------|-3-------||
|-0----------|-2----------|-2----------|-7--------|-7-------|-7-------|-5-------||
|-0----------|-2----------|-2---2------|-7--------|-7-------|-5-------|-4-------||
  *   *   *    *   *   *    *   *   *    *  *  *    *  *  *   *  *  *   *  *  *   

Possible lyric substitution:
"Sing us a song, Ukulele Man; sing us a song tonight..."

INTRO
C G Am C F C D G
C G Am C F G C C F F C C F F

FIRST VERSE: 
    C      G           Am      C        
Its nine o?clock on a saturday      
    F	      C         D        G          
The regular crowd shuffles in
	   C      G         Am         C	        
There?s an old man  sitting next to me  	
        F          G         C      C
Making love to his tonic and gin 

C  G  Am  C  F  G  C  C  F  F

        C           G         Am     C 	    
He says son can you play me a memory   	
     F          C           D      G
I?m not really sure how it goes
          C           G           Am           C    
But it?s sad and its sweet and I knew it complete 
     F        G             C	     C
when I wore a younger man?s clothes 

Am    C		  D7   D7   Am        
La da da     de de Da               
   C            D7  D7 	  G  G7 G G7
da da     de de Da     da DA


CHORUS: 
C	  G 	         Am        C   
Sing us a song you?re the piano man     
F         C       D     G
Sing us a song tonight
            C          G          Am     C     
Well we?re all in the mood for a melody   
    F             G           C     C
and you?ve got us feeling all right

C G Am C F G C C F F C C F F

VERSE 2
     C          G            Am           C
Now John at the bar ? he?s a friend of mine, 
   F          C          D    G
he gets me my drinks for free
         C            G          Am            C
And he?s quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
            F               G           C           C 
but there?s some place that he?d rather be 


        C      G               Am          C
He says bill I believe this is killing me,
         F          C           D      G
as the smile ran away from his face, 
         C           G           Am      C 
Well I?m sure that I could be a movie star,
      F         G          C     C
if I could get out of this place


Am    C		  D7   D7   Am        
La da da     de de Da               
   C            D7  D7 	  G  G7 G G7
da da     de de Da     da DA

VERSE 3
      C        G          Am       C
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
    F         C          D      G
who never had time for a wife
         C            G          Am           C 
And he?s talking with Davy who?s still in the navy
    F         G          C     C 
and probably will be for life

C G Am C F G C C F F 

        C           G          Am       C
And the waitress is practising politics
       F           C          D      G
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
            C         G           Am            C 
yes they're sharing a drink they call loneliness 
        F           G        C     C 
but its better than drinking alone

PIANO SOLO


CHORUS: 
C	  G 	         Am        C   
Sing us a song you?re the piano man     
F         C       D     G
Sing us a song tonight
            C          G          Am     C     
Well we?re all in the mood for a melody   
    F             G           C     C
and you?ve got us feeling all right

C G Am C F G C C F F C C F F


VERSE 4
       C           G           Am       C
It?s a pretty good crowd for a saturday 
        F       C          D      G
And the manager gives me a smile
         C               G               Am        C
Cause he knows that it?s me they've been coming to see
   F            G          C     C
To forget about life for a while


        C     G             Am       C
And the piano sounds like a carnival 
        F          C             D      G
and the microphone smells like a beer
         C          G           Am          C        
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
        F            G         C     C
and say man what are you doing here? 


Am    C		  D7   D7   Am        
La da da     de de Da               
   C            D7  D7 	  G  G7 G G7
da da     de de Da     da DA



CHORUS: 
C	  G 	         Am        C   
Sing us a song you?re the piano man     
F         C       D     G
Sing us a song tonight
            C          G          Am     C     
Well we?re all in the mood for a melody   
    F             G           C     C
and you?ve got us feeling all right


C G Am C F G C C F F C C F F

C   
Jaja, okay okay
                  F
Ya sé qué pasa aquí
   A#                            C
Encuentras la grandeza frente a ti
             C
Y no sabes bien qué sentir
       F            A#                      C
Es adorable, que jamás los humanitos cambiarán
           C       F
Despierta ya, oye bien, 
           A#                   C
este como ves es Maui, de verdad
             C                F
Sé que como yo no encuentras dos
        A#          C
Lo que miras es un semi Dios

[Coro 1]
Am         F           C
  Yo solo sé decir de nada
        E7               Am
Por el mar, el cielo, el sol
                F            C
No hay de que agradecer, de nada
     E7                    C
Soy sólo un ordinario semi yo

[Estrofa 2]
C                                F  
Hey, ¿qué fortachón el cielo elevó?
                        A#
Cuando eras de esta altura, éste
C                  C
  Si la noche enfrió, 
                  F
¿quién fue quien fuego te llevó?
       A#          
¿Qué, alguien me nombró? 
C              C       F
  Oh, yo sólo lazo el sol
          A#                    C
De nada, para estirar tu diversión
          C       F
Brisa yo hago soplar, de nada, 
   A#           C
y así tus velas elevar

[Coro 2]
Am        F            C
  Yo sólo sé decir de nada, 
        E7                  Am
por las islas que traje del mar
              F                  C
No ruegues jamás, nunca más, de nada
         E7                     Am
¡Ha! Genial es mi manera de servir, 
    F
de nada, 
    C
de nada

[Parte Rap]
C
De nada dudes ya
Hey, honestamente te explicaré 
de natural modo cada fenómeno
El mar, el sol, el gas, 
oh, ese es Maui hablando de más
Anguilas que, yo las enterré, 
de la palmera los cocos creé
Un consejo, una lección te doy
No me molestes si en mi descanso estoy
Am
  El tapiz que en mi piel se ve, 
F
  es el mapa de lo que gané
C
  Por donde fui provoqué mil sucesos
E7
  Ve al pequeñín mini Maui nomás zapateando,
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ¡Hey!

[Coro 3]
Am          F              C
  Yo sólo puedo decir, de nada (de nada)
           E7              Am
Por el mundo especial que doy
                 F           C
No hay de que agradecer, de nada (de nada)
    E7                     Am
De nada hablaré, que ya me voy
          F            C
Te toca a ti decir de nada (de nada)
       E7             Am
Pues quiero esa barca ya
             F          C
Muy lejos navegaré, de nada (de nada)
       E7               Am
Pues Maui nada sabe de nadar
              F                 C  F C
(De nada) De nada (De nada) de nada
         C
Y gracias

De Nada

G      Em
I found a love for me
               C                         D
Darling just dive right in, and follow my lead
                G                 Em
Well I found a girl beautiful and sweet
          C                                  D
I never knew you were the someone waiting for me

                                 G
Cause we were just kids when we fell in love
              Em                     C               G  D
Not knowing what it was, I will not give you up this ti-ime
                   G                         Em
But darling just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own
             C                  D
And in your eyes you’re holding mine

       Em   C            G          D              Em
Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
C                G     D                Em
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
          C                G                 D              Em
When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath
         C                G        D             
But you heard it, darling you look perfect tonight

               G                    Em
Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know
                C                                        D
She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I’ll share her home
           G             Em
I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets
         C                              D
To carry love, to carry children of our own

                              G                     Em 
We are still kids, but we’re so in love, fighting against all odds
                  C               G  D
I know that we’ll be alright this ti-ime
               G                            Em 
Darling just hold my hand, be my girl, I’ll be your man
          C              D
I see my future in your eyes



       Em   C            G          D              Em
Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
C                G     D                Em
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
          C                G                 D               Em
When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath
         C                G        D             
But you heard it, darling you look perfect tonight

G Em C D 


       Em     C            G          D              Em
Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
C                G     D                Em
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
          C                G                 D               Em
When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath
         C                G        D             
But you heard it, darling you look perfect tonight


Perfect

BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP


C         G
Baa, baa, black sheep,
F            C
Have you any wool?

F        C
Yes sir, yes sir,
G          C
Three bags full.

C           G
One for the master,
F           C
One for the dame,

F               C
And one for the little boy
G                  C
Who lives down the lane.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Intro (2X):
Am	G	F	C

Verse 1:
                C	               Am		
There's so much craziness surrounding me
                F	 	             G		            
There's so much going on it gets hard to breathe
     Am     F		                          C
When all my faith has gone you bring it back to me
Am	         G	       F   C
You make it real for me

             C	             Am		
When I'm not sure of my priorities
               F	 	             G		
When I've lost sight of where I meant to be
     Am   F		            C
Like holy water washing over me 
Am	         G	       F   C
You make it real for me

Chorus:
    G	    Am	   F	             C
And IIIIIIIII'm running to you baby
G    Am	              F	           C
  Youuuuuuuuu are the only one who saved me
       G     Am	         F	               C
That's    whyyyyyyy I've been missing you lately
      Am	         G	       F   C
Cause you make it real for me 

Verse 2:
          C	                   Am		
When my head is strong but my heart is weak
              F	 	          G		
I'm full of arrogance and uncertainty
     Am      F				                          C
When I can't find the words you teach my heart to speak
Am	         G	       F   C
You make it real for me yeah

Chorus:
    G	    Am	   F	             C
And IIIIIIIII'm running to you baby
G    Am	              F	           C
  Youuuuuuuuu are the only one who saved me
       G     Am	         F	               C
That's    whyyyyyyy I've been missing you lately
      Am	         G	       F   C
Cause you make it real for me 

Bridge:
G                           F                 C
    Everybody’s talking in words I don't understand
G                                    F              C
    You got to be the only one who knows just who I am
Em                                    F	
    You’re shining in the distance I hope I can make it through
           D	                              G                                    
Cause the only place that I want to be is right back home with you 


Verse 3:
                 C	             Am		
I guess there's so much more I have to learn
               F	 	                       G		
But if you're here with me, I know which way to turn
        Am         F		                   C
You always give me somewhere, somewhere I can run
Am	            G	       F   C
   You make it real for me 

Chorus:
    G	    Am	   F	             C
And IIIIIIIII'm running to you baby
G    Am	              F	           C
  Youuuuuuuuu are the only one who saved me
       G     Am	         F	               C
That's    whyyyyyyy I've been missing you lately
      Am	         G	       F   C
Cause you make it real for me 
Am	         G	       F   C
You make it real for me

You Make It Real

G         Em		  
1) Almost heaven,   West Virginia,
2) All my mem'ries, gather round her, 

   D			 C                G
1) Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah       River.
2) miner's lady,         stranger to blue water.

                      Em  
1) Life is old there, older than the trees, 
2) Dark and dusty,    painted on the sky, 

   D
1) younger than the mountains
2) misty taste of moonshine

   C			G
1) growin' like a breeze.
2) teardrop in my eye.

              G              D            Em        C
       Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong.
	      G               D              C            G
     West Virginia, Mountain momma, take me home Country roads


           Em       D            G 
 	I hear her voice in the morning hour she calls me,
            C        G              D 
        the radio reminds her of my home far away
            Em               D            C
        and driving down the road I get a feeling 
 	       G                     D          D7    G
        that I should have been home yesterday, yesterday.

Country Roads

Am      C              F              C
I had a dream, we were sipping whisky neat
        F              C                 G
Highest floor, the Bowery, and nowhere’s high enough
    Am              C                F             C
Somewhere along the lines, we stopped seeing eye to eye
         F               C           G
You were staying out all night and I had enough


      F           Am             F                    C       
No, I don't wanna know where you been or where you're goin’
      F               Am                 G
But I know I won't be home and you'll be on your own


            F                    C                G
Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning?
            F                 C                 G
Who's gonna rock you when the sun won't let you sleep?
             F                C               G         E7   Am
Who's waking up to drive you home when you're drunk and all alone?
             F                    C                G
Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning, it ain’t me


Am        C              G         F   
Ow-ow, ah-ah the Bowery, ow-ow, ah-ah whiskey neat
Am          C       G         G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)

F         C              Am        G
Ow-ow, ah-ah the Bowery, ow-ow, ah-ah whiskey neat
F           C       G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)

Am     C           G      F   
Ow-ow, the Bowery, ow-ow, the whiskey neat
Am          C       G         G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)

F      C           Am     G
Ow-ow, the Bowery, ow-ow, the whiskey neat
F           C       G         G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)


Am  C  Am       C              F           C
       I had a dream, we were back to seventeen
       F                   C            G
Summer nights and the Libertines, never growing up
Am             C          F                 C
I'll take with me the polaroids and the memories
        F              C                G
But you know I'm gonna leave behind the worst of us


             F                    C                G
Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning?
             F                 C                 G
Who's gonna rock you when the sun won't let you sleep?
             F                C               G         E7   Am
Who's waking up to drive you home when you're drunk and all alone?
             F                    C                G               
Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning

         F      C     G
It ain’t me, no-o, no-o
         F      C     G
It ain’t me, no-o, no-o
         F      C     G  E7  Am
It ain’t me, no-o, no-o
             F                    C                G                
Who's gonna walk you through the dark side of the morning, it ain’t me


Am     C           G      F   
Ow-ow, the Bowery, ow-ow, the whiskey neat
Am          C       G         G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)

F      C           Am     G
Ow-ow, the Bowery, ow-ow, the whiskey neat
F           C       G         G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)

Am     C           G      F   
Ow-ow, the Bowery, ow-ow, the whiskey neat
Am          C       G         G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)

F      C           Am     G
Ow-ow, the Bowery, ow-ow, the whiskey neat
F           C       G         G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)

Am     C           G      F   
Ow-ow, the Bowery, ow-ow, the whiskey neat
Am          C       G         G
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I (it ain’t me)

F            C           Am           G
No no, no no no, Bowery, no no, no no no, whiskey neat
F           C       G                     Am
Where y’go, I’m so, grateful, I, it ain’t me

It Ain't Me

Intro/Verse
A|--4--1--3--6---------------------------------------------------|
E|--------1--4---------------------------------------------------|
C|--8--5---------------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------|

Chorus
A|--1--4--4--4--6------------------------------------------------|
E|--------2-----4------------------------------------------------|
C|--5--8-----8---------------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------------------------|

Solo
A|--8-8-8-8-8-9-6-6-8-9-I----------8-------------------------------|
E|-------------------------9-9-9-9---4-4-4-------------------------|
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------|

A|--8-8-8-8-8-9-6-6-8-9-I------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------9-9-9-9-------------------------------|
D|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------------------------------------|

School Friends

S                     S        
A|-------------------------------------| 
E|--6------6-6---3-------------------1-| 
C|-------------5---5-------------------| 
G|-------------------------------------| 
                                                              
A|----------------------------------------------------------| 
E|--1--1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1------------------------------| 
C|-----4-4-4-4-3-3-3-3-2-2-2-2------------------------------| 
G|----------------------------------------------------------| 

A|-----5--8--10--8--5--|--8-12--------12--|----5-8-10-8-5-------| 
E|--6------------------|------------------|--6------------------| 
C|---------------------|------------------|---------------------| 
G|---------------------|-------5--7-5-----|---------------------| 
     S      S      S      S            
A|----------------7------7-8----8---| 
E|--5-6----5-6------1----5-6----6---| 
C|--4-5------2------2-----------2---| 
G|---------6------6-----------------|

King Creole

Verse 1:
G                                    Em        G        Em
There was a girl who lived in London town.
G                                 Em                   G      Em
The scenes and sounds, they would only bring her down
C                                   D
She had polkadots and rubies in her dreams,
C                   D
French fantasies on cinema screens...
        C             G/B    Am     G
And she knew from the finish to the start
C      G/B      Am   G
It was bound to fall apart
C         G/B     Am   Em
Thanks to Cupid's lazy dart.
Em                                D
Wouldn't it be sweet if she could die from a broken heart?

G     Em      G      Em

Verse 2: (the same chords)
There was a boy who lived inside his head.
He couldn't face the world, so he turned his back instead.
He couldn't see in front of his eyes;
His fantasies of outlaws had him hypnotised...

And he knew from the finish to the start
It was bound to fall apart
Thanks to Cupid's lazy dart.                        F
Wouldn't it be sweet if he could die from a broken heart?

   C              G           F
Behold his golden wings
       C              G         F
And behold his bronze bow.
                 C             G         F
Can you hear his silver arrows sing?
       C               G     
As his gaylied favours glow.

(then go back to the normal verse bit)

There was a boy and girl who fell in love:
They both were in love with the stars and sky above,
Cinderella, cigarettes and scenes from the past
Were chasing them too fast for this love to ever last...

And they knew from the finish to the start
It was bound to fall apart
Thanks to Cupid's lazy dart.                         F
Wouldn't it be sweet if they could die from a broken heart? 

C   G    F    C    G

Repeat F  C  G until the end. End on G.

Arrows Of Eros

Am
There's a sadness all around us
          F                         C
There are words we're too afraid to say
                                        Am
The things that I thought would last forever
    F              G
Are changing every day

          Am
There's a hunger can't be satisfied
        F                       C
And the streets are filled with rage
C                       Am
It's time to dig deep inside ourselves
F                       G
And face the life we've made

Am
It's gonna take two of us
C                           Am
Ijust can't do it all on my own
F				  C
I see the day gettin' brighter
G                    F
Hold me a little bit tighter

C                      Am      F
Out of the darkness in hand in hand
     Am               F        G
Baby together we will make our stand
C                             Am      F
Reach out and touch me we can win somehow
       Am              F                G
I know there's nothing that can stop us now
F              Am                 G   C
Oh, baby, come with me out of the darkness

...

Piano Man

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