Harry Chapin Mr. Tanner [Live] lyrics

Mr. Tanner was a cleaner
From a town in the Midwest
And of all the cleaning shops around
He'd made his the best

But he also was a baritone
Who sang while hanging clothes
He practiced scales while pressing tails
And sang at local shows

His friends and neighbors praised the voice
That poured out from his throat
They said that he should use his gift
Instead of cleaning coats

But music was his life
It was not his livelihood
And it made him feel so happy
And it made him feel so good

And he sang from his heart
And he sang from his soul
He did not know how well he sang
It just made him whole

His friends kept working on him
To try music out full time
A big debut and rave reviews
A great career to climb

Finally they got to him
He would take the fling
A concert agent in New York
Agreed to have him sing

And there were plane tickets, phone calls
Money spent to rent the hall
It took most of his savings
But he gladly used them all

But music was his life
It was not his livelihood
And it made him feel so happy
And it made him feel so good

And he sang from his heart
And he sang from his soul
He did not know how well he sang
It just made him whole


The evening came, he took the stage
His face set in a smile
And in the half filled hall the critics sat
Watching on the aisle

But the concert was a blur to him
Spatters of applause
He did not know how well he sang
He only heard the flaws

But the critics were concise
It only took four lines
But no one could accuse them
Of being over kind

Mr. Martin Tanner, Baritone, of Dayton, Ohio
Made his Town Hall debut last night
He came well prepared but unfortunately
His presentation was not up to contemporary
Professional standards

His voice lacks the range of tonal color
Necessary to make it consistently interesting
Full time consideration of another endeavor
Might be in order

He came home to Dayton
And was questioned by his friends
Then he smiled and just said nothing
And he never sang again

Excepting very late at night
When the shop was dark and closed
He sang softly to himself
As he sorted through the clothes

Music was his life
Not his livelihood
It made him feel so happy
And it made him feel so good

And he sang from his heart
And he sang from his soul
And he did not know how well he sang
It just made him whole