Key: Db major
Verse 1
C
Em
F
Em
F
Em
My
C
Grandfather
G
Am
C
Thomas was a serious man.
F
G
worked every day of his life.
C
G
C
G
Am
C
First as a lawyer, then as a judge.
Charlotte was his darling wife.
G
Am
Em
They had seven children and 42 grandkids
G
C
Patriarch he spent his
G
Am
whole life here in
New
York
C
City
F
G
C
Em
F
G
quietly making his mark
C
G
Am
Grandpa was a type a workaholic
C
F
G
before we knew what those terms meant
C
G
C
Am
He would bring briefcases filled with work
C
F
G
papers to every family event.
Em
Am
He didn't drink.
F
G
He was quite formal whenever he spoke.
C
G
And though we loved him,
Am
C
we never felt close.
F
G
C
Em
F
G
He was a serious man.
C
Em
Yes, my grandfather was a
F
G
very serious man.
C
G
He loved the law, he loved upholding the law,
Am
C
F
and he prided himself on never breaking the
law.
practical reason.
Am
Em
He would bring his work papers to the opera and he would use
F
Em
the tiny lights along the floor to illuminate them.
G
C
I don't think ushers at the
G
C
Am
Met today would tolerate that kind of be havior,
C
F
G
but he got away with it back then.
C
G
Now my grandma and grandpa
Am
C
never took any exotic trips.
Em
C
G
Am
Every weekend they'd be attending a christening or a confirm
C
F
ation or a graduation or a birthday or a wedding.
Em
G
Am
Em
Grandpa in all the family photos, serious and stately,
F
in his pinstripe suit, bowtie and fedora, never smiling.
G
C
Though in a couple of the pictures we noticed re
G
Am
cently that he had a bit of a faraway look in his eye.
C
F
G
We figured he was probably working on a case in
C
Em
F
G
his head when that picture was snapped.
G
C
Am
C
Sunday in the mid -1960s,
Em
Am
Peekskill, on the banks of the
Hudson,
C
F
My parents, five brothers,
Am
Em
As I recall, we girls were with
Grandma,
F
G
Having cookies and tea in the living room.
C
G
In the field next to our
C
F
G
Playing baseball that afternoon.
C
Em
F
G
C
The field next to our house
Em
G
was really a long sloping hill.
C
G
Home plate was at the bottom of that hill,
Am
the pitcher's mound was part way up the hill,
C
F
then there was the infield,
G
and the outfield was all the way up against the side of our house,
C
G
but nobody ever played that far back,
Am
C
F
because nobody could ever hit that far, with the angle and all.
Grandma tell us stories.
C
G
he was off in the corner somewhere
Am
working.
C
F
G
C
Em
But he wasn't.
F
G
C
Em
F
Em
G
C
Am
Never before and never since
C
F
G
Something big happened that day
C
G
Am
Grandpa put his work pa pers aside
C
F
He told my brothers he wanted to play
G
Am
He took off his jacket,
Greg was pitching,
C
G
Am
C
Grandpa connected, he hit that ball high,
F
G
Ab
high, high, high, high
Db
Ab
Db
Grandma was telling us
Bbm
Db
another story about
New
Gb
Ab
York in the olden days
Db
Ab
Before there was a
Db
George
Db
Bridge,
State
Bbm
Fm
All of a sudden, the windows shattered.
Db
Ab
Bbm
Db
To the floor, cups and saucers clattered.
Gdim
A
wondered who could the batter be.
Eeeeee -ah!
D
A
Bm
We ran to the window and looked
G
A
And there, at the bottom of the hill
D
A
Stood our dear grandpa,
D
G
A
Smiling his guts out, enjoying the thrill
G
A
Has a peacock puffed up with joy
D
A
Bm
The only time we ever witnessed our
G
A
Bm
F#m
Just being one of the boys
G
A
D
Grandpa was one of the boys
A
Bm
D
G
A
G
A
you
How did you like the song?
TunerE A D G B E
ChordsC Em F G Am...
More songs by Christine Lavin
Discover chords for more songs to play
Popular chords globally
Most played chords & tabs across all users
Recently added
Recently added chords & tabs