The Waterboys - Nearest thing to hip

^GThere used to be a café a few blocks away, ^COpen seven days, ca^Dlled “The Brilliant Mis^Gtake” ^{C D G}Where a crow-haired girl with scarlet lips ^CAnd slender hips s^Derved up coffee and c^Gake ^{C D} On a ^Amcrackling stereo the ghosts of Sun Ra, ^EmCharlie Parker, Miles and Coltrane bl^Dew^{Dsus D Dsus G}I’d kick back in my chair, that sweet honey’d jazz in the ai^Cr ^DThe sun shining through

^GIt was the nearest thing to hip ^AmIt was the nearest thing to hip In this s^Chithole… ^Dand it’s g^Gone ^GIt was the nearest thing to hip ^AmIt was the nearest thing to hip In this s^Chithole… ^Dand it’s g^Gone

^GEverywhere that I go I see streets that are low ^COn distinction and high o^Dn the banal and the b^Gland ^{C D G}How did we get to this? We plumbed the abyss By the tw^Cisted grace of the ^Dlaw of supply and de^Gmand ^{C D} Well, there’s ^Amno use crying and no use sighing over ^EmStone, wood, wire, glass and cem^Den^Dsust ^{D Dsus G}But there’s a little record store with a wooden floor That ain’t t^Chere no more that I u^Dsed to frequent

^GIt was the nearest thing to hip ^AmIt was the nearest thing to hip In this s^Chithole… ^Dand it’s g^Gone ^GIt was the nearest thing to hip ^AmIt was the nearest thing to hip In this s^Chithole… ^Dand it’s g^Gone

^EmNow I need to get ^Dout of this.. ^Chullabaloo^{G Em}And I remember an ^Dold-fashioned bar ^Cthat I once k^Gnew ^BbWith an old-fashioned ^Ambarman ^Cwearing old-fashioned ^Gclothes ^AmBut when I get there.. i^Dt’s been bulldozed

^GSo I follow my nose down Comatose Lane ^CThrough the stripped back, ripped up ^Dwastes of Woebegone Squ^Gare^{C D G}Till I find myself on Deadbeat Street, ^CMy feet beginning to a^Dche, despair in the air^{G C D Am}The only thing bright in this blighted town Are the^Em billboard adverts everywhere d^Dis^Dsusplayed^D li^Dsuske mocking shades ^GAnd the musty, dusty second-hand bookstore Is now a ^Cscum-encrusted amu^Dsement arcade

^GIt was the nearest thing to hip ^AmIt was the nearest thing to hip In this s^Chithole… ^Dand it’s g^Gone ^GIt was the nearest thing to hip ^AmIt was the nearest thing to hip In this s^Chithole… ^Dand it’s g^Gone

^{G C D} .. ^Gand it’s gone G C D G