The picking/strum pattern is probably the toughest thing
about this song. I kind of just try to do some odd
combination of strumming & picking during the verses
& Choruses, then just strumming for the bridges.
Have fun with it (but not too much).
Intro: F C F C
F C C/B Am
F G
verse 1
F C
See you still haven't quit smoking
F C
Is that really all that you can think to say?
F C C/B Am
I remember your bedsheets smudged with ashes and burns
F G
When you stayed up all night reading The Brothers K
F C
I know nostalgia's a Southall waitress
F C
Saving nickels for a rainy day far removed
F C C/B Am
Still I can't ever remember seeing your tongue so tied
F G
Or your hands shake so loose
Bridge 1
F G
Yes, everyone wants to believe their time was special, Nick
Am F
See the dish run away with the spoon
C
Then they settle down
G
And they settle in
Am F
And they curse the night for givin' them all those sweet dreams
C G
All those sweet dreams, they bartered and sold
F C
So long ago
verse 2
F C
Coachie was wise to get out when he did
F C
And hitch his pony to an actual star
F C C/B Am
You know, he's playing the Sydney Opera House tonight
F G
Aren't y'all still sleeping on strangers' wooden floors, yes
F C
How'd you get that iceberg way up on your shoulder, Jim?
F C
Can't we force our old demons into a truce?
F C C/B Am
No, I'm afraid what we did was secret then
F G
Don't act surprised it now applies to you
Bridge 2
F G
I guess everyone thinks genius is in their blood
Am F
Or at least livin' down the street a door or two
C
And then they settle down
G
And they settle in
Am F
And they curse the night for punishing them with those sweet dreams
C G
All those sweet dreams that exposed their soul
F C
So long ago
verse 3
F C
Bobby says the translator's nightmare is finding all the right words
F C
But somehow still gettin' the whole story wrong
F C C/B Am
And all you guitar poets, well you're life's little butchers
F G
Go ahead and put that one in your song
F C
You've got endless tales of love gone bad
F C
I guess our Romeo is really cursed
F C C/B Am
You poke your nose in everyone's dirty clothes
F G
So you can turn 'em into your light, loose verse
Bridge 3
F G
Well, my life isn't neat rhymes and punchlines
Am F
Cheap laughs and your talking blues
F G
And I wish that for just one time
Am F
You could stand inside my shoes
C
You could settle down
G
And you could settle in
Am F
And you could curse the night for givin' you all those sweet dreams
C G
All those sweet dreams I watched corrode
F C
So long ago
verse 4
F C
Well, it's easy to get hung up
F C
On all the things that you'll never have
F C C/B Am
A backyard pool, your mother's love,
F G
John Lennon's autograph
F C
Some people step into an ambulance
F C
While others slip into a trance
F C C/B Am
I've heard the sky blooms Picassos, though
F G
If you stop and give the clouds half a chance
Bridge 4
F G
But I won't go to your funeral, Sue
Am F
But I've got a couch if you ever need a place to crash
C
We could settle down
G
We could settle in
Am F
We could thank the night for givin' us all those sweet dreams
C G
All those sweet dreams, like swords pulled from stones
Am F
While we filled our notebooks with grass, branch, and bone
C
Aw, here's to the sweet dreams
G
That wouldn't leave us alone
F C
So long ago