Intro: e|---------------------------------------------------| B|---------------------------------------------------| G|----------0-------------0------------0-------------| D|-------0----0--------0----0-------0----0-----------| A|---------------------------------------------------| E|----3-------------2-------------0------------------| e|---------------------------------------------------| B|-----------------3--------------3------------------| G|---------------------------------------------------| D|--------------------------------------------0------| A|----0---2---3-------2--0----------2--0-------------| E|-----------------------------3---------------------| G D/F# Em In a small town where all knew all C G D Wandered a peasant lady nobody knew G D/F# Em But her only friend was a young boy C G D Brought her hot tea and leftover stew G D/F# Em In those burning wintry Decembers C G D He??d pick dirty pennies up off the cold street G D/F# Em And while his mother was out Christmas shopping, Am D G He??d say, ??Come on in, warm your feet G D Dsus (2x) C9 D Dsus (2x) G D/F# Em As long as you share with me stories.?? C G D So she spoke, ??I??m a product of war. G D/F# Em My mother never knew who she could be C G D As my father lay drunk on the floor.?? G D/F# Em And she spoke of the cart that she wheeled C G D Had keys with no locks and guitars with no strings G D/F# Em And a puzzle that could never be finished Am D G This is my home, these broken things G D/F# Em C Ah, but the boy went on to be taught in the schools G D/F# G/B C9 To not talk to strangers, and don??t feed the fools G D/F# G/B C9 Grew older and further and of her, forgot G D Bm C9 As she was forced to move from lot to lot to lot G D/F# Em C G D/F# G/B C9 (2x) G D/F# Em She said, ??I guess it was much in his nature C G D To become an enforcer of law. G D/F# Em My old friend??s got a gun to protect me C G D From the rock-tossing drunks from the bars G D/F# Em Always seemed like the sort to help others C G D So I??ll find him while he??s on the beat G D/F# Em And say, remember me, I??m the old lady Am D G You??d give me pennies you??d find on the street.?? G D/F# Em When she found him, she saw not the young boy C G D Who dug for the roots of her junk G D/F# Em Em She came face to face with a stern, vacant soldier C G D Grinnin?? and spinnin?? a club G D/F# Em He said, ??Don??t you know that you can??t be here? C G D You??ll hurt business, and scare away the kids. G D/F# Em Go wander around in some other town Am D G Get out or I??m taking you in.?? G D/F# Em C ??But officer, I fondly remember you, G D/F# G/B C9 Young boy who would give me the leftover stew G D/F# G/B C9 And would take me inside to the warm fire coals. G D G/B C9 Those hundreds of pennies bought me all these clothes. G D/F# Em C G D/F# G/B C9 (2x) G D/F# Em It??s against the law to peddle C G D It??s against the law to eat G D/F# Em It??s against the law to have nothing more C G D Than the shoes, full of holes, on your feet G D/F# Em And now they put bars across the park benches C G D So I guess it??s illegal to sleep. G D/F# Em They buried something inside of you, officer Am D G Into your cold heart, dig deep G D/F# Em C And you??ll see that it??s me G D/F# G/B C9 And here I??ll be, nothing new to me. G D/F# G/B C9 I??ll be heartbroken and cold, frozen and alone. G D G/B C9 My coffin was a dumpster and they didn??t even know.?? G D/F# Em C But while out on the beat, he looked down to his feet, G D/F# G/B C9 And he saw a dirty penny heads up at his feet G D/F# Em And it made him think of an old tall tale Am D G Of a woman who pushed ?�round a cart G D/F# Em And the boy who fed her and helped her C G D Knew he should have deep in his heart G D/F# Em Oh, where did he hear that old tall tale? C G D But hey, what a story to spread So he told it to his own growing boy Once in a while before bed Outro: G D Dsus (2x) C9 D Dsus (2x)