What Made America Famous — Harry Chapin
Chords and lyrics for What Made America Famous by Harry Chapin (key of G).
Verse 1
[G]It was the town that made America famous
[C]Close [C/B]to the [Am]churches full and the kids [D]gone to hell
[G]Six traffic lights and seven cops
[C]And all the streets kept [C/B]clean
[Am]The supermarket and the drug store [D]and the bars all doin' [C]well
Verse 2
[G]Now they were the folks that made America famous
[C]Our [C/B]local [Am]fire department stocked with [D]short-haired [G]volunteers
[G]And on Saturday night while America boozes
[C]The fire department showed dirty [C/B]movies
[Am]The lawyer and the grocer seein' their [C/B]dreams come to life [C/G]on the movie screen
[Am]The plumber hopes that he won't be seen [C/G]as he tries to hide his fears
And he wipes away his tears
Chorus
[Bb]But somethin's burnin' somewhere
[A]Does anybody [B]care?
[G]
Verse 3
[G]We were the kids that made America famous
[C]The [C/B]kind of kids that long since drove our [D]parents to [G]despair
[G]We were lazy long-hairs droppin' out
[C]Lost, confused, and coppin' out
[C/B]Convinced our futures were in [D]doubt
[Am]And tryin' not to care
Verse 4
[G]We lived in the house that made America famous
[C]It was [C/B]a [Am]run-down slum, the shame of all the decent [D]folks in [G]town
[G]We're hippies and some welfare cases
[C]Crowded families of cold, black [C/B]faces
[Am]Cramped inside some cracked old [C/B]boards
[Am]The best that we all could [C/G]afford
[Am]But still too fine [C/G]for the rich landlord to ever tear it down
[G]And we could hear the sound
Chorus
[Bb]Of somethin' burnin' somewhere
[A]Is anybody [B]there?
[G]
Verse 5
[G]We all lived the life that made America famous
[C]Our [C/B]cops would [Am]make a point to shadow us [D]around our [G]town
[G]And we love children put a swastika on the bright red firehouse door
[C]America, the beautiful, [C/B]it makes a [Am]body [D]proud
Verse 6
[G]And then came the night that made America famous
[C]Was it [C/B]carelessness or [Am]someone's sick idea [D]of a [G]joke?
[G]In the tinder-box trap we hippies lived in someone struck a spark
[C]At first I thought that I was [C/B]dreamin'
[Am]Then I saw the first flames [C/B]gleamin'
[Am]And heard the sound of children [C/G]screamin'
[Am]Comin' through the [C/G]smoke
Chorus
[Bb]And somethin's burnin' somewhere
[A]Does anybody [B]care?
[G]
Verse 7
[G]Oh, it was the fire that made America famous
[C]The [C/B]sirens [Am]wailed and the firemen stumbled [D]sleepin' from their [G]homes
[G]And when the plumber yelled, "C'mon, let's go!"
[C]They saw what was burnin' and said, "Take it [C/B]slow"
[Am]"Let 'em sweat a little"
[D]"They'll never know"
[C]"And besides, we just cleaned the chrome"
[G]Said the plumber, "Then I'm goin' alone"
Verse 8
[G]Well he rolled on up in the fire truck
[Am]And raised the ladder to the ledge
[C]While me and my girl and a couple of kids [C/B]were clinging like bats to the [Am]edge
[D]We staggered to salvation
[G]Collapsed on the street
[C]And I never thought that a fat [C/B]man's face
[Am]Would ever look so [D]sweet
Verse 9
[G]I shook his hand in the scene that made America famous
[C]And [C/B]he smiled [Am]from the heart that made America [D]great
[G]We spent the rest of that night in the home of this man that we'd never [C]known before
[C/B]It's funny; when you get that close, [Am]it's kind of hard to [D]hate
Verse 10
[G]I went to sleep with the hope that made America famous
[C]I [C/B]had the [Am]kind of a dream that maybe they're still trying to teach in [D]school
[G]Of the America that made America famous
[C]And [C/B]of the people [Am]who just might understand
[C/G]That how together, yes we [Am]can
[C/G]Create a country better than
[F]The one we have made of this land
[F]We have the choice
[F]To make each man
[D]Who dares to dream
[D]Reachin' out his hand
[C]A prophet or just a crazy damn dreamer or a fraud
[G]Yes, a crazy fraud
Chorus
[Bb]And somethin's burnin' somewhere
[A]Does anybody [B]care?
[G]Is anybody there?
[G]Is anybody there?????