The Ballad of Mary Foster
The Ballad of Mary Foster

The Ballad of Mary Foster easy guitar chords by Al Stewart

N/A
Guitar
Tuning

E A D G B E

Capo

Fret 4

Capo

Transpose

0

Capo
  • B

    2
  • Em

  • A

  • E

  • D

  • Am

  • G

  • C

  • F

  • Dm

  • B

    2
  • Em

  • A

  • E

  • D

  • Am

  • G

  • C

  • F

  • Dm

  • Intro 1


    Verse 1
    David 
    Foster 
    lives 

    in 
    Gloucester 
    with 
    his 
    fam
    ily 

    Works 
    'til pay-time, 
    through 
    through 
    the day-time, 

    then 
    then 
    comes 
    home 
    for 
    tea 

    Steak 
    and kid
    ney, 

    then 
    with 
    Sydney 
    to 
    his 
    club 
    and feels 
    free 

    They 
    close 
    the bar, 

    he 
    finds 
    his car 
    and then goes 
    home 
    to 
    sleep 

    And his 
    wife 
    has 
    been 
    with Rosie, 

    in the 
    parlour 
    where 
    it's 
    cosy 

    Watching 
    telly, 
    doing 
    dishes, 

    patching 
    pants 
    and making 
    wishes 

    And 
    he'll say, 
    Bill should 
    have wired 

    And, 
    Not tonight 
    dear, 
    I'm 
    too 
    tired 

    An
    life 
    drifts 
    slowly 

    by 
    in 
    the 
    provinces 

    Verse 2

    Peter 
    Foster 
    goes 
    to 
    Gloucester 

    for 
    his 
    first 
    school 
    day 

    Bites 
    his teacher, 

    sees 
    a preach
    er 
    and 
    is 
    taught 
    to 
    pray 

    Sees 
    some bird
    s and learns 
    some words 
    it's very, 

    very 
    rude 
    to 
    say 

    Yes, 
    he's 
    rather 
    like 
    his 
    father 

    was 
    in 
    his 
    young 
    day 

    And his 
    father 
    has 
    discussions, 

    holding 
    forth 
    about 
    the Russians 

    Will the 
    Red Chinese 
    attack 
    us 

    Do we 
    need 
    the Yanks 
    to back 
    us 

    And 
    in bed 
    she 
    feels 
    his shoulder, 

    but he 
    grunts 
    and just 
    turns 
    over 

    And 
    life 
    drifts 
    slowly 
    by 
    in the 
    provinces 

    Verse 3

    Wedding 
    rings 
    come 
    with strings 
    but 

    love 
    de
    pends 
    on the 
    little 
    thing

    Oh 
    could that 
    still 
    be 
    really 
    you 

    Is there 
    anything 
    time 
    can't 

    do 

    Interlude 1

    Verse 4
    David 
    Foster's 
    been 
    pro
    moted, 

    he's 
    decent 
    sort 

    Peter's 
    gone 
    to 
    Dad's 
    old 
    Public 
    School, 

    it's 
    good 
    for 
    sport 

    They've 
    even 
    got 
    a private 
    parking 

    place 
    down 
    in 
    Huntingdon 
    Court 

    Maybe 
    soon 
    he'll be 
    a ma
    gistrate, 

    the 
    neighbours 
    thought 

    Yes, 
    and then 
    he'll 
    teach 
    the 
    beatniks 

    And the 
    hang-around-the-streetnicks 

    And 
    the 
    the the 
    good-for-nothing 
    loafers 

    loafers 

    loafers 

    Who 
    knock 
    girls 
    up 
    on their sofas 

    And his 
    wife 
    is 
    quite nice, 
    really 

    Though she 
    seems 
    a little 
    dreamy 

    Re
    cently 

    Verse 5
    I was 
    born 
    and 
    brought 

    up 
    on 
    the 
    east 
    side 
    of town 

    And my 
    earliest 
    days 

    they passed 
    quickly 

    I would 
    play 
    af
    ter 
    school 
    with 

    the kid
    all 
    around 

    In the 
    sun 
    and 
    the dust 

    of 
    the back 
    streets 

    Verse 6
    Oh, 
    all 
    through my 
    girl

    hood 
    the 
    war 
    had 
    its 
    day 

    And 
    my 
    daddy 
    he 
    would al

    ways 
    be leav
    ing 

    So 
    my brother 
    and 
    we 

    would 
    sit by 
    her 
    side 

    Telling 
    our tales 
    through 

    the 
    evening 

    Verse 7
    Oh, I grew 
    with 
    the days 
    and 

    the boys 
    came 
    to 
    call 

    In the 
    back 
    shed 
    I learned 
    about 
    kissing 

    But 
    I don't 
    think 
    my 

    mother 
    has 
    no
    ticed 
    at 
    all 

    For 
    we've heard 
    that 
    my 

    daddy 
    is 
    missing 

    Verse 8
    Then 
    my school 
    days 
    they 
    were 

    over 
    and 
    went 
    off to 
    work 

    And 
    my 
    mother 
    grew quieter 
    and 
    greyer 

    So 
    one 
    day I 
    left 
    her 
    and 
    went 
    off to 
    live 

    With 
    Billy, 

    sax
    ophone 
    player 

    Verse 9
    In our broken 
    down 
    attic 

    we laughed 
    and 
    made 
    love 

    And 
    all 
    that 
    we 
    had 
    we 
    were sharing 

    Oh, 
    we slept 
    through 
    the day 

    and played 
    into 
    the 
    night 

    God, 
    we 
    did as 
    we 

    pleased 
    without 
    caring 

    Verse 10
    Oh 
    but a 
    year's 
    passed 
    away 

    and he's 
    left 
    me one 
    day 

    To play 
    in a far 
    away 
    coun
    try 

    And 
    the sun 
    told 
    my 
    eyes, 

    You've 
    got 
    no place 
    to 
    hide 

    As 
    waited 
    to 
    be 
    having 
    his baby 

    Verse 11

    Oh I 
    lived 
    in 
    the park 
    and 

    the men 
    passed 
    and stared 

    Each 
    wondering 
    which 
    one had 
    lost 
    her 

    And 
    one 
    came 
    to ask 
    could 

    he buy 
    me 
    meal 

    And 
    he said 
    he 
    was 
    called 
    David 
    Foster 

    Verse 12
    We 
    were mar
    ried 
    that 
    month 

    and I 
    swore 
    to 
    myself 

    Some
    how 
    I'd 
    pay 
    back 

    what 
    I owed 
    him 

    Cooking 
    his 
    sup
    per 
    and 

    cleaning 
    his 
    boots 

    Yes, 
    and 
    kid
    ding my
    self 

    could 
    love 
    him 

    Verse 13
    Oh, 
    but now 
    my 
    baby 
    is 
    grown 

    and he's 
    gone 
    out to 
    school 

    And he 
    looks 
    very 
    much 
    like his 
    daddy 

    And 
    Dav
    id has 
    buried 

    him
    self 
    in 
    his 
    work 

    And 
    the time 
    on my 
    hands, 

    it 
    hangs 
    heavy 

    Verse 14
    Oh, 
    the neigh
    bours 
    they 
    smile 

    as 
    we pass 
    in 
    the streets 

    And 
    they 
    make 
    their 
    re

    marks 
    on the 
    weather 

    But 
    the 
    butcher 
    and 
    baker 

    deliv
    er 
    thing
    now 

    And 
    I've stopped 
    going 

    out 
    alto
    geth
    er 

    Oh, I 
    Verse 15
    live 
    by 
    my 
    mirror 
    and 

    stare 
    in 
    my 
    eyes 

    Trying 
    to 
    make 
    out 
    who 
    I see 
    there 

    But 
    I'm 
    looking 
    at a wo
    man 

    that 
    I can
    't 
    recog
    nize 

    And 
    I don't 
    think 
    she 

    knows 
    me 
    either 

    Verse 16
    There 
    are lines 
    on 
    her face 

    and her hair 
    is 
    a mess 

    And 
    the 
    light 
    in her 
    eyes 
    it 
    grows 
    colder

    In 
    the 
    morn
    ing there's 
    nothing 
    will 
    change, 

    ah 
    but 
    yes 

    I will 
    be 
    just 
    little 
    bit 
    older 

    Outro 1

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