Intro Dm
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In the [F]little town of Candor, in the [C]last year of my youth,
I [G]learned the final lesson of the [Bb]levels to the truth.
My [F]father was a farmer he'd go [C]tilling in the ground.
My [G]mother was a neighbor she'd go [Bb]visiting a[Dm]round.
But I [C]didn't care,
For [C]I had found the answer to a [Dm]plowboy's lonely prayer.[C]
She was the [Am]daughter of the [Dm]Mayor.
The [F]Mayor fought my courtship, for [C]he'd made other plans,
He saw her [G]married to a better man than a [Bb]boy with farmer's hands.
I [F]said -- I hate your father, it's [C]so hard not to strike him.
She [G]said --You know I love you [Bb]because you're so much [Dm]like him.
And [Dm]so I'd go sneaking in the [C]evening,
And [Em]there she'd stand a crying in the [Am]dawn as I was [F]leaving.
But the [Dm]Mayor of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
Repeat intro
One day with [F]father on his tractor and [C]mother off again,
I [G]go to find the mayor and [Bb]work out what I can.
But he [F]is not at his office, he [C]is not at his home,
When I [G]find him in the countryside [Bb]he is not [Dm]alone.
He is [Dm]holding a woman and [C]imagine my surprise,
As she [Em]jumps back from his arms I look in[Am]to my mother's [F]eyes!
The [Dm]mayor of Candor lied
[Dm] [G]
[F]All my thoughts of outrage, [C]embarrassment and pain,
Were [G]washed away by what came [Bb]roaring through my brain.
The [F]Mayor's at my mercy and I [C]hear my own voice say,
Your [Bb]run for re-election, sir, is just one [Dm]month away.
And the [Dm]world will never know of what I've [C]seen here sir,
But [Em]I'll be with your daughter is my [Am]meaning clear, [F]sir?
The Mayo[Dm]r of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
Repeat intro
My [F]mother looks in horror at the [C]compromise we made,
But the [G]Mayor's rueful smile says the [Bb]piper must be paid!
I had a [F]month of joy in heaven from this [C]deal I'd made in hell.
What [G]was to happen then my friend a [Bb]prophet could not [Dm]tell.
The [Dm]day after his re-election and the victory cele[C]bra[G]tion,
The Mayor takes his family on a month long foreign vaca[Dm]tion.
Oh [Dm]Sarah, you know how much I [C]love you.
There is [Em]no one I'd ever place a[Am]bove you.
Oh [Dm]Sarah, you don't even [C]know me.
To [Em]have you there's nothing that's be[Am]low [F]me.
The Mayo[Dm]r of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
Repeat intro
The [F]day that they return I stand [C]waiting on the road.
I [G]watch the car drive up, I watch the [Bb]passengers unload.
Of [F]course she isn't there. Of [C]course, I should have known.
The [G]Mayor says that she is staying. The [Bb]decision is her [Dm]own.
He said "She's [Dm]finishing her schooling on that [C]unseen foreign shore.
And I'll [Em]tell you very frankly, boy, [Am]you'll not [F]see her anymore!
The Mayo[Dm]r of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
Repeat intro
I [F]spit out my hatred and my [C]fury at his lies,
When he [G]says you tried to blackmail me you're [Bb]just as bad as I!
He says -- Go [F]on and do your damndest boy, throw your [C]mother to the streets!
You [G]know it's been too many years I [Bb]had to be [Dm]discreet.
And as he [F]stands there saying we're [C]just two of a kind,
It [G]hits me like a thunderbolt ex[Bb]ploding in my mind.
As I [F]look into his aged, wrinkled, [C]mirror of my own face,
He [G]laughs and sneers and says, Of course, dear [Bb]son,
Where do you think you came from in the first place?
The Mayo[Dm]r of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
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D|-0----- x3 -0--0-2
A|------- -------
E|------- -------
In the [F]little town of Candor, in the [C]last year of my youth,
I [G]learned the final lesson of the [Bb]levels to the truth.
My [F]father was a farmer he'd go [C]tilling in the ground.
My [G]mother was a neighbor she'd go [Bb]visiting a[Dm]round.
But I [C]didn't care,
For [C]I had found the answer to a [Dm]plowboy's lonely prayer.[C]
She was the [Am]daughter of the [Dm]Mayor.
The [F]Mayor fought my courtship, for [C]he'd made other plans,
He saw her [G]married to a better man than a [Bb]boy with farmer's hands.
I [F]said -- I hate your father, it's [C]so hard not to strike him.
She [G]said --You know I love you [Bb]because you're so much [Dm]like him.
And [Dm]so I'd go sneaking in the [C]evening,
And [Em]there she'd stand a crying in the [Am]dawn as I was [F]leaving.
But the [Dm]Mayor of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
Repeat intro
One day with [F]father on his tractor and [C]mother off again,
I [G]go to find the mayor and [Bb]work out what I can.
But he [F]is not at his office, he [C]is not at his home,
When I [G]find him in the countryside [Bb]he is not [Dm]alone.
He is [Dm]holding a woman and [C]imagine my surprise,
As she [Em]jumps back from his arms I look in[Am]to my mother's [F]eyes!
The [Dm]mayor of Candor lied
[Dm] [G]
[F]All my thoughts of outrage, [C]embarrassment and pain,
Were [G]washed away by what came [Bb]roaring through my brain.
The [F]Mayor's at my mercy and I [C]hear my own voice say,
Your [Bb]run for re-election, sir, is just one [Dm]month away.
And the [Dm]world will never know of what I've [C]seen here sir,
But [Em]I'll be with your daughter is my [Am]meaning clear, [F]sir?
The Mayo[Dm]r of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
Repeat intro
My [F]mother looks in horror at the [C]compromise we made,
But the [G]Mayor's rueful smile says the [Bb]piper must be paid!
I had a [F]month of joy in heaven from this [C]deal I'd made in hell.
What [G]was to happen then my friend a [Bb]prophet could not [Dm]tell.
The [Dm]day after his re-election and the victory cele[C]bra[G]tion,
The Mayor takes his family on a month long foreign vaca[Dm]tion.
Oh [Dm]Sarah, you know how much I [C]love you.
There is [Em]no one I'd ever place a[Am]bove you.
Oh [Dm]Sarah, you don't even [C]know me.
To [Em]have you there's nothing that's be[Am]low [F]me.
The Mayo[Dm]r of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
Repeat intro
The [F]day that they return I stand [C]waiting on the road.
I [G]watch the car drive up, I watch the [Bb]passengers unload.
Of [F]course she isn't there. Of [C]course, I should have known.
The [G]Mayor says that she is staying. The [Bb]decision is her [Dm]own.
He said "She's [Dm]finishing her schooling on that [C]unseen foreign shore.
And I'll [Em]tell you very frankly, boy, [Am]you'll not [F]see her anymore!
The Mayo[Dm]r of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
Repeat intro
I [F]spit out my hatred and my [C]fury at his lies,
When he [G]says you tried to blackmail me you're [Bb]just as bad as I!
He says -- Go [F]on and do your damndest boy, throw your [C]mother to the streets!
You [G]know it's been too many years I [Bb]had to be [Dm]discreet.
And as he [F]stands there saying we're [C]just two of a kind,
It [G]hits me like a thunderbolt ex[Bb]ploding in my mind.
As I [F]look into his aged, wrinkled, [C]mirror of my own face,
He [G]laughs and sneers and says, Of course, dear [Bb]son,
Where do you think you came from in the first place?
The Mayo[Dm]r of Candor lied,
When he [G]offered me his only daughter.
The [Dm]Mayor of Candor tried,
To [G]take her off across the water.
[Bb]What a thing to do to a [G]young man in love.
[Bb]What a thing to do to your [Dm]daughter.
