G         | G         | G         | G         ||

[Verse 1]
G                               F
When I was a child I heard them coming from my Sisters room
         Am                                  Am*               G*
and they spoke of peace and love and war and hate and hope and doom.
    G                                      F
And I knew they would change the world and mend this broken nation,
Am                                  Am*             G*
now they feel like memories, coming from the oldies station.

[Chorus]
                Em                C
Just a bunch of words in a simple chain,
           Am                     G
on a hotel napkin with a red wine   stain.
                Em                    A
Just a bunch of words and some simple chords,
                  F* C*        G
that will soon be gone, just a song.

[Verse 2]
    G                                  F
The monkey took my friend and beat him right into the ground,
    Am                                  Am*        G*
so, I was there the day they spread his ashes all around.
G                              F
I sang one I wrote for him but felt just like a hack,
          Am                                   Am*                  G*
because I knew my pretty, little ditty, wasn't ever gonna bring him back.

[Chorus]
                Em                C
Just a bunch of words in a simple chain,
           Am                     G
on a hotel napkin with a red wine stain.
                Em                    A
Just a bunch of words and some simple chords,
                  F* C*        G
that will soon be gone, just a song.

[Bridge]
F*              C*               G
One to move us, one to sooth us, one to educate,
F*           Am*        D                   E
major happy, minor sad, sometimes modulate, ...

[Verse 3] (Key Change to A)
A                                      G
I know a pirate in the Caribbean who's broken all the rules,
       Bm                                     Bm*        A*
now he stands and sings for drunken kids from NY private schools.
A                                           G
  I ask him how he keeps it up and his eyes begin to glisten,
               Bm                               Bm*                   A*
He says: "it's who I am, it's what I do, on the off chance they might listen" ...

[Chorus]
              F#m               D
to a bunch of words in a simple chain,
           Bm                     A
on a hotel napkin with a red wine stain.
                F#m                   B
Just a bunch of words and some simple chords,
                  G* D*        A
that will soon be gone, just a song, yeah.

[End-Chorus]
                F#m               D
Just a bunch of words in a simple chain,
            Bm               A
and a happy tune and a sad refrain.
                F#m                   B
Just a bunch of words and some simple chords,
                  G* D*        A
that will soon be gone, just a song.

[Outro]
             G* D*              A
But right or wrong, it's just a song,
                 G* D*             A
we gotta soldier on,   it's just a song.
              A                           A
Gotta soldier on, oh, yeah, gotta soldier on, sing my song,
              A                                 A
gotta soldier on, right or wrong, gotta soldier on, gotta soldier on.
              A                             A
Gotta soldier on, soldier on, gotta soldier on, sing my song,
N.C.
gotta soldier on, sing my song, oh yeah.