Streets Of London Chords by Ralph Mctell

[E] .
[B] [C#m] [G#m] .
[A] [E] .
[B] [E] .
Have you [B] seen the old man in the [C#m] closed [G#m]-down market?.
[A] Kicking up [E] the paper with [A] his worn [B]-out shoes?.
[E] In his [B] eyes you see no pride, [C#m] and held [G#m] loosely at his [A] side.
[E] Yesterday's paper [B] telling [E] yesterday's news.
So [A] how can [G#m] you tell me [C#m] you're [G#m] .
[C#m] lonely?.
[F#] And say for you that the sun [B] don't shine.
Let [E] me take you [B] by the hand [C#] and lead you [C#m].
through [G#m] the streets of London.
[A] Show you [E] something [B] to make you change [E] your mind .
[B] [C#m] .
[B] [E] Have you seen [B] the old girl [C#m] who walks the streets [G#m] of London?.
[A] Dirt in her [E] hair and [A] her clothes in [B] rags.
[E] She's no time for [B] talking, she [C#m] just keeps right on [G#m] walking.
[A] Carrying her [E] home in [B] two carrier [E] bags .
[A] So how [G#m] can you tell me [E] you're [F] lonely?
.
[F#] And say for you that the sun [B] don't shine.
Let [E] me take you [B] by the hand [C#m] and lead you through [G#m] the streets of [A] London.
Show [E] you something [B] to make you change [E] your mind.
In [B] .
[C#m] [C#] [G#m] .
[A] [E] .
[B] [E] .
the all [B]-night cafe [C#] at a quarter past [G#m] eleven .
[A] Same [E] old man [A] sitting there on [B] his own.
[E] Looking at [B] the world over the [C#m] rim of his [G#m] .
teacup.
[A] Each tea lasts [E] an hour and [B] he wanders home [E] alone.
So [G] how can [F#m] you tell me that you're [B] lonely?.
[D] [E] .
And say for you that the sun [A] don't shine.
Let .
[D] me take you [A] by the hand [Bm] and lead you through the [F#m] streets of London.
[G] Show [D] you something to [A] make you change [D] your mind.
[A] .
[Bm] .
[A] [D] Have you seen [A] the old man [Bm] outside the [F#m] seamen's mission?.
[G] Memory [D] fading with the metal [G] .
ribbons [A] that he wears.
[Dm].
In our winter [A] city the [B] rain cries a little [F#m] bit.
Of .
[G] one more forgotten [D] hero [A] and a world that [D] doesn't care.
[G] .
So how can [F#m] you tell me [D] you're [Bm] lonely?.
[D] [E] .
And say for you that the sun [A] don't shine .
[D] Let me take [A] you by the hand [Bm] and lead you through [F#m] the streets of London.
[G] I'll show [D] you something [A] to make you change [D] your mind.
Were you ever tempted to call the streets of London [A] the streets of Paris, [N] Ralph?.
Well, it was going to be that.
I had it in my mind that that would have a lovely ring to it.
And then suddenly it reminded me there was a song called The Poor People of Paris.
or a tune called The Poor People of Paris.
and I thought, well, if, you know, this situation is not just confined to this city, it's everywhere.
and London, which I know even better, has just the same characters.
in different circumstances, different locations.
so I just started reworking it.
but I have, hand on heart, I don't think it would have been written had I not been here.
and certainly the tune was here.
I remember I mentioned earlier about, you know, all the musicians around.
there was a guitar player called Gary Peterson who said to me.
that's such a pretty tune, man, you should write some words to it, you know.
and that's, so it started off [A] about [D] Paris and [Am] metamorphosed into London, [C#] you know.
When you wrote it, you were part of an [N] alternative culture.
but the song went on to achieve mass appeal.
[C#] How does that make you feel?.
A little bit weird, [G#] actually, yeah.
I would have liked it to have been a bit more left field, you know, [N] than that.
but, you know, if it is viewed as a pop song, let's hope it's a pop song that makes people have a think.
because there's a wonderful world of music and words out there that aren't just, you know.
what they sound like when you first hear them, they're worth looking at again.
Do you believe the song will outlive you?.
I think it will, yeah.
I do, I mean, I don't want it to sound vain but I just, you know, people still covering it.
you know, it's still picking up the odd cover version even now.
and I also have the added little pleasure of knowing that the song is actually used as a teaching aid.
not just in schools now but for young guitar players.
You'd be amazed how many rock and roll, hard-bitten rock and rollers come up to you.
You never guess the first tune I ever [G#] learnt to play and I think, oh really?.
Oh, that's quite nice as well.
So [G] it seems it's one song fits, seems to fit most [N] .
purposes somehow.
So I'm pretty [D] pleased about that.
[G] So how can you [F#m] tell me that [D] you're low?.
[Bm] .
[E] And you say, are you that the sun [A] don't [Bm] shine?.
[A] .
[D] Let me take [A] you by the [Bm] hand and lead you through [F#m] the streets of London.
[G] I'll show you [D] something to [A] make you change [D] your mind .
[G] [D] .
[N] .
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