Em Em
[Verse 1]
Em C D G
Chicago is where the woman downstairs
Am B7 Em
Starved herself to death last summer
Em C D G
Her boyfriend Ted ate hotdogs and wept
Am B7 Em
With the grey rats out on the fire escape
Em C D G
In a thrift store chair I drank cases of beer
Am B7 Em
And dreamed of lying down on the L-tracks
Em C D G
The trains roared by under smoke grey skies
Am B7 Em
Lake Michigan rose and fell like a bird
[Chorus]
C D G
And when the wind screamed up Ashland Avenue
C D G
The corner bars were full by noon
C D G
And the old stewbums sliding down their stools
Am B7 Em
Ate boiled eggs and fed beer to their dogs
[Instrumental Break]
Em C D G Am B7 Em
[Verse 2]
Em C D G
The woman downstairs lost all her hair
Am B7 Em
And wore a beret in the laundry room
Em C D G
I borrowed her soap and bought her a coke
Am B7 Em
But she left it on the dryer
Em C D G
She died in June weighing eighty-two
Am B7 Em
Her boyfriend went back to New York
Em C D G
The cops wandered through her dusty rooms
Am B7 Em
One of them stole her TV
[Chorus]
C D G
And when the wind screamed up Ashland Avenue
C D G
The corner bars were full by noon
C D G
And the old stewbums sliding down their stools
Am B7 Em
Ate boiled eggs and fed beer to their dogs
[Outro]
Em C D G C D G
C D G Am B7 Em
Em C D G Am B7 Em
