Piano Man (ver. 2)
View chords used in this chart
C Em Am C
it's nine o'clock on a Saturday
F C/E D7 G
the regular crowd shuffles in
C Em Am C/G
There's an old man sitting next to me
F G11 C F/C Cmaj7 G11
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
C Em Am C/G
He says Son can you play me a memory
F C/E D7 G
I'm not really sure how it goes
C Em Am C/G
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
F G11 C
when I wore a younger man's clothes"
Am Am/G D7/F# F Am
Da da da de de da
Am/G D7/F# D7 G G/F C/E G7/D
da da de de da da da
C Em/B Am C/G
Sing us a song, you're the piano man,
F C/E D7 G
sing us a song to night
C Em/B Am
Well we're all in the mood for a melody
C/G F G11 C F/C Cmaj7 G11
and you've got us feeling all right
C Em Am C
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine,
F C/E D7 G
he gets me my drinks for free
C Em Am C/G
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke,
F G11 C F/C Cmaj7 G11
but there's some place that he'd rather be
C Em Am C/G
He says "Bill I believe this is killing me"
F C/E D7 G
As a smile ran away from his face
C Em Am C/G
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
F G11 C
If I could get out of this place"
{c:Chorus}
C Em Am C
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
F C/E D7 G
who never had time for a wife
C Em Am C/G
And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the Navy,
F G11 C F/C Cmaj7 G11
and probably will be for life
C Em Am
And the waitress is practicing politics,
C/G F C/E D7 G
as the businessmen slowly get stoned
C Em Am C/G
Yes they're sharing a drink they call loneliness,
F G11 C
but it's better than drinking alone
C Em Am C
It's a pretty good crowd for a saturday
F C/E D7 G
and the manager gives me a smile
C Em Am C/G
`Cause he knows that it's me that they've been coming to see
F G11 C F/C Cmaj7 G11
To forget about life for a while
C Em Am C/G
And the piano sounds like a carnival
F C/G D7 G
and the microphone smells like a beer
C Em Am C/G
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
F G11 C
and say "Man what are you doing here ?
How to play Piano Man (ver. 2)
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is C. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.