Best Tuning App Ever
MaddProfessor
“I've downloaded many tuning apps before and this one is by far the best. Easy to use, super user-friendly, and they have a bunch of fun different chords and songs to help you learn new music. I highly recommend.”
The Ballad of Mary Foster chords by 
Al Stewart
N/A•
Intro 1
B
Em
B
Em
B
Verse 1
David Foster lives
A
E
B
in Gloucester with his family
Works 'til pay-time, through through the day-time,
A
E
B
then then comes home for tea
E
D
Steak and kidney,
A
E
B
then with Sydney to his club and feels free
They close the bar,
Am
A
D
E
B
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,
A
patching pants and making wishes
B
And he'll say, Bill should have wired
And, Not tonight dear, I'm too tired
E
A
An d life drifts slowly
B
by in the provinces
Verse 2
B
A
Peter Foster goes to Gloucester
E
B
for his first school day
Bites his teacher,
A
E
B
sees a preacher and is taught to pray
E
D
A
E
Sees some birds and learns some words it's very,
B
very rude to say
A
Yes, he's rather like his father
E
B
was in his young day
And his father has discussions,
holding forth about the Russians
Will the Red Chinese attack us
A
Do we need the Yanks to back us
B
And in bed she feels his shoulder,
but he grunts and just turns over
A
B
And life drifts slowly by in the provinces
Verse 3
B
Em
B
Wedding rings come with strings but
Em
G
B
love depends on the little things
Em
B
Oh could that still be really you
Em
G
C
Is there anything time can't
B
A
do
Interlude 1
E
D
B
Verse 4
B
A
David Foster's been promoted,
E
B
he's a decent sort
A
Peter's gone to Dad's old Public School,
E
B
E
it's good for sport
D
A
They've even got a private parking
E
B
place down in Huntingdon Court
A
Maybe soon he'll be a magistrate,
E
B
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
A
Who knock girls up on their sofas
B
And his wife is quite nice, really
G
Though she seems a little dreamy
C
Am
A
G
Re cently
Am
G
Am
Verse 5
I was born and brought
C
D
F
up on the east side of town
Am
C
And my earliest days
E
they passed quickly
A
Am
C
I would play af ter school with
D
F
the kids all around
Am
G
In the sun and the dust
F
of the back streets
Verse 6
Am
Oh, all through my girl
C
D
F
hood the war had its day
Am
And my daddy he would al
C
E
ways be leaving
A
C
So my brother and I we
D
F
would sit by her side
Am
G
Telling our tales through
F
the evening
Verse 7
Am
C
Oh, I grew with the days and
D
F
the boys came to call
Am
C
E
In the back shed I learned about kissing
A
Am
But I don't think my
C
D
F
mother has no ticed at all
Am
For we've heard that my
G
F
daddy is missing
Verse 8
Am
Then my school days they were
C
D
F
over and I went off to work
A
Am
C
E
And my mother grew quieter and greyer
A
Am
C
D
F
So one day I left her and went off to live
Am
With Billy,
A
G
F
a saxophone player
Verse 9
Am
C
In our broken down attic
D
F
we laughed and made love
Am
C
E
And all that we had we were sharing
A
Am
C
Oh, we slept through the day
D
F
and played into the night
Am
A
Am
God, we did as we
G
F
pleased without caring
Verse 10
Am
C
Oh but a year's passed away
D
F
and he's left me one day
Am
C
E
To play in a far away country
A
Am
C
And the sun told my eyes,
D
F
You've got no place to hide
Am
G
As I waited to be having his baby
F
Verse 11
Am
C
Oh I lived in the park and
D
F
the men passed and stared
Am
C
E
Each wondering which one had lost her
A
Am
C
And one came to ask could
D
Dm
F
he buy me a meal
Am
G
F
And he said he was called David Foster
Verse 12
Am
C
We were married that month
D
and I swore to myself
F
Am
C
Somehow I'd pay back
E
what I owed him
A
Am
C
Cooking his sup per and
D
F
cleaning his boots
Am
A
Am
Yes, and kid ding myself
G
D
F
I could love him
Verse 13
Am
C
Oh, but now my baby is grown
D
F
and he's gone out to school
Am
C
Am
E
And he looks very much like his daddy
A
Am
C
And David has buried
D
F
himself in his work
Am
G
And the time on my hands,
D
F
it hangs heavy
Verse 14
Am
C
Oh, the neighbours they smile
D
F
as we pass in the streets
Am
And they make their re
C
E
marks on the weather
Am
C
But the butcher and baker
D
F
deliver things now
Am
And I've stopped going
G
D
Dm
F
out altogether
Am
Oh, I
Verse 15
C
live by my mirror and
D
F
stare in my eyes
A
Am
C
E
Trying to make out who I see there
A
Am
C
But I'm looking at a woman
D
F
that I can't recognize
Am
G
And I don't think she
Dm
F
knows me either
Verse 16
Am
C
There are lines on her face
D
F
and her hair is a mess
Am
C
D
E
And the light in her eyes it grows colder
A
Am
C
D
In the morning there's nothing will change,
Dm
F
ah but yes
Am
G
F
I will be just a little bit older
Outro 1
F
D
A
G
A
How did you like the song?
You need to log in to leave a rating.
Learn to play The Ballad of Mary Foster by Al Stewart with GuitarTuna
Master The Ballad of Mary Foster by Al Stewart on guitar and explore 10000 tabs created by our verified editors.
Whether you're learning The Ballad of Mary Foster by Al Stewart for the first time or perfecting your skills, GuitarTuna makes it easier to practice across guitar, bass and piano. Join 2 Million musicians already playing songs they love on GuitarTuna. Rated 4/5 on App Store.
Autoscroll20%
Join millions playing with GuitarTuna
- #1 Tuner
in AppStore & Google Play
- +
AppStore & Play rating
- M
Downloads worldwide
- k+
Songs available
Trusted by guitar players worldwide
Well-Designed App
Rose the Black Cat
“I mostly use this for tuning my guitar, which this app makes ridiculously easy. It also has a large selection of songs to play along to and it helps show you which chords to play as well how to make the shapes with your fingers.”
Got me back into playing
Tuliketsune
“I got this app to tune an old guitar, and noticed it has a feature that autoscrolls as I play chords to famous songs. For some reason, this was a lot more motivating for me than any other way of practicing guitar. Now I'm actually practicing and remembering the names of chords 🙂”
Secret weapon
Brad
“Not only is it a tuner (best app tuner I've used personally) but it also has a metronome, games, chords, and a plethora of instruments to choose from and it's SUPER easy to navigate. I love it! Thanks for making an awesome app. From one musician to another, THANKS!!!”
Very reliable tuner
theNewPaul
“This is a great app! Very easy to use and very reliable, if you are just starting out, you can take a big worry off your mind, by getting in tune quickly and easily with this app. Highly recommended!”
This is the best guitar tuner ever.
Caleb Schafli
“It tunes your guitar accurately so you can get the best sound. I like all the other little games as well because they teach you how to play different chords and you can learn to identify the chords by listening to them and it is all offline.”
Great to tune and play
Lynae T
“I love how easy it is to tune and find and play my favorite songs.”