ARTIST: Harry Chapin
TITLE: Taxi
Lyrics and Chords


It was raining hard in 'Frisco
I needed one more fare to make my night
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down
She got in at the light

/ C Gm C Gm / / / Bb G# C Gm C Gm /

Oh, where you going to, my lady blue
It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain
She just looked out the window and said
"Sixteen Parkside Lane"

Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before
But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken"
And she didn't say anything more

/ D Am D Am / / / C Bb D Am D Am /

It took a while, but she looked in the mirror
Then she glanced at the license for my name
A smile seemed to come to her slowly
It was a sad smile, just the same

   And she said, "How are you Harry"
   I said, "How are you Sue
   Through the too many miles and the too little smiles
   I still remember you"

   / G - D - / C - D - / G - D Bm / G - - - D Am D Am / 

It was somewhere in a fairy tale
I used to take her home in my car
We learned about love in the back of a Dodge
The lesson hadn't gone too far

      You see, she was gonna be an actress
      And I was gonna learn to fly
      She took off to find the footlights
      And I took off to find the sky

      / G - Em A / D - Bm - / G - D Bm / C Bb D Am D Am /

Oh, I've got something inside me
To drive a princess blind
There's a wild man, wizard, he's hiding in me
Illuminating my mind
Oh, I've got something inside me
Not what my life's about
'Cause I've been letting my outside tide me
Over 'til my time runs out

/ C - - - / Bm - E - / C EmAm AmC EmAm Am / D - Em - / 
   / 1st, 2nd, 3rd / F - Eb - /

Baby's so high that she's skying
Yes she's flying, afraid to fall
I'll tell you why baby's crying
'Cause she's dying, aren't we all

/ F - Em7 - / Bb - C - / 1st / A - G - /

There was not much more for us to talk about
Whatever we had once was gone
So I turned my cab into the driveway
Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns

And she said, we must get together
But I knew it'd never be arranged
And she handed me twenty dollars for a two fifty fare
She said, "Harry, keep the change"

Well another man might have been angry
And another man might have been hurt
But another man never would have let her go
I stashed the bill in my shirt

   And she walked away in silence
   It's strange, how you never know
   But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for
   Such a long, long time ago

You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly
She took off to find the footlights
And I took off for the sky

      And here, she's acting happy
      Inside her handsome home
      And me, I'm flying in my taxi
      Taking tips, and getting stoned
      I go flying so high, when I'm stoned

      ... / G - A - D Am D Am D - /

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