Tom Russell - The night the chinese restaurant burned down

^GMaggie and me, we were finished with school that ^Csummer ^GHoldin' down part time jobs at the five and ^Ddime ^CSingin' with a band at the Legion hall on ^Gweek^Cends ^AmDoin' those standards, dreamin' 'bout the ^Dbig time ^GYou could hear the girls coming home from the canning ^Cfactory ^GLaughin' and talkin' about their wedding ^Dgowns And the ^Cradio was playing Canadian ^GSuns^Cet The ^Gnight the Chinese ^Drestaurant burned ^Cdown ^G

Heard a ^Gsound like a shot about 6 o'clock that e^Cvening As the ^Gfirst of the bottles and cans began to ex^Dplode The ^Cnew firetruck pulled up with the siren ^Gwai^Cling And ^Amhalf-dressed volunteers hooked up the h^Dose People ^Gsaid they hadn't seen a crowd like that since the ^Cend of World War II All the ^Gregulars from Rex Hotel came ^Ddown They were ^Cstandin' around like they had no home to ^Ggo ^Cto The ^Gnight the Chinese ^Drestaurant burned ^Cdown ^G

And ^EmMaggie and me were sittin' on the steps of the^C cenotaph together We ^Emlooked at each other as if we'd been given a ^Csign

Oh, the ^Gcrowd was breakin' up as the steam was ^Crisin' From the ^Gdying embers in the heart of dying ^Dtown And ^CMaggie and me caught the last Grey Hound at ^Gmid^Cnight The ^Gnight the Chinese ^Drestaurant burned ^Cdown ^G

It was long a^Cgo, so far a^Gway, it ^Cseems like yester^Gday Like ^Gany summer night in any little ^Dtown And the ^Cradio was playing Canadian ^GSuns^Cet The ^Gnight the Chinese ^Drestaurant burned ^Cdown ^G The ^Gnight the Chinese ^Drestaurant burned ^Cdown ^G