Jeff Tweedy - Ballad of the opening band

It's ^Dafter nine, bar time, ^BmAny Bar USA ^AThe bartender yells to the band to get up there and play ^GA little bit out of ^D/F#tune, they slowly fall ^Ain As the ^Dchords ring out, the ^Bmnighttime roars to ^Alife, if only in a dream ^GIt's ^D/F#just an empty bar, that's ^Aright But you're the opening toni^Dght^{C G D C G}

^GYou were gonna ^Abe a singer on the ^Ghit parade ^{A G}Instead, you're just a ^Asinger warming ^Gup the stage ^A For tomorrow's latest rage^{D C G D C G}

And the ^Ddream world of every little ^Bmopening band ^ASoon gets shattered and the headliner takes command ^GYou feel the fleet of ^D/F#fame in a night ^A As the ^Dlatest local hero ^Bmshoots you a wink ^AYou sit there thinking, "Oh my God did we stink or what?" ^GThere's only one ^D/F#shot tonight ^A And you're the opener, that's ^Drig^Cht ^{G D C G}

^GYou were gonna ^Abe a singer on the ^Ghit parade ^{A G}Instead, you're just a ^Asinger warming ^Gup the stage ^A You're the opener to^Gnig^D/F#ht ^{A D C G D C G}

The ^Dnight is finally over, and the ^Bmplace is sure a mess ^AYou grab your guitar and get kicked out with the rest ^GThe headliner's ^D/F#bus rolls by and they honk and ^Awave As you're ^Dwalking across the street some ^Bmguy you meet ^ASays he caught your band and you guys was kind of neat ^GSay, could you ^D/F#open up for his band some ^Etime?

^GYou were gonna ^Abe a singer on the ^Ghit parade^{A G}Instead, you're just a ^Asinger warming ^Gup the stage ^A You're the opener to^Dnig^Cht ^{G D C G}