Chords for "The Road"

Date: October 23, 1997  8:56 AM
From: Tim Harris


THE ROAD                            Ray Davies

D               A        F#                      Bm       G
Sittin alone in my hotel  Looking in the mirror  Wonderin well
       D                       A                                G
After all this time you never thought you'd still be out on the road
D            A             F#                          Bm        G
Like a gypsy I was born to roam   Like a wanderer with no fixed abode
   D                           A                   G    D
I think about the friends I've left behind on the road
         A                  G        Bm
Well the road's been rocky along the way
             A                    G    Bm 
It's been a long hard haul on the motorway
          A                             G         Bm
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day
         D                                                         A
On The Road (TR) - the bed and breakfasts and the greasy spoons - (TR) - 
                                       Bm
the loser bars and the noisy rooms - (TR) - the casualties that did too
               G
many lines - (TR) - and wasted talent on women and wine
           D
I think of all the friends I've left behind
     A                                     D
Whenever it's time to get back out on the road

D                                        F#m
Started playing blues in a coffee bar  I took a trip down the Charing
        Bm
 Cross Road

With my imitation Gretch guitar
        G
and my head full of songs and my eyes full of stars
         D
I saw a band called the Rolling Stones
    A                                                   
I thought that's it - I'll get a band - I'm leavin home - 
                D
I'm out on the road
                                             A
Out on the motorways all over this land and far away places like Wigan
                   Bm                                                G
 and Birmingham - (TR) - Didn't have no name didn't have any fans - (TR)

 - Didn't have no money so we slept in the van
           D
All those early gigs we ever played
    A                                                   D 
and sometimes we were lucky if we even got paid on the road


D                                  A
Pete played on the bass guitar and liked to get around mixin' with all
the stars
     Bm
Mrs Avory's child was all fingers and thumbs
     G 
But solid as a rock at setting time on the drums
       D
While Dave the Rave hit the rock'n'roll riffs
       A                                                     D 
yours truly strummed away with a slightly limp wrist on the road

A     G        A      G


A                      G                   A                     G
There are days when I can't get used to it There are days when I can't
       Bm
 get away from it

A                            G             Bm                 A     G 
And there are days when the freeway's the place - that's the road
      A                     G   Bm           A               G 
Well life is a road it's a motorway and the road gets rocky along the
  Bm
 way
          A                             G        Bm
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day

D                                                   A
(TR) - Jimmy Hendrix, The Who then Led Zepplin and Free - they took the 
                        Bm                                      G
road so it's alright by me Some are survivors and some of them break
                                                D
If you play in a band that's the road that you take
 
Livin it   eatin it   sleeping it
     A                                            D      A  Em   A  Em
You wake up in the morning what do you see?  The road

A                      G     A G            A                    G 
Life is a road it's a motorway     I lost a lot of good friends along
      A  G
 the way
          A                      G            Bm
All the families and homes that I've left behind
            A                     G                    A          G 
to all the wives and lovers and friends who had their time     I say
D                       A    G    D                              A
You take your road and I'll take mine   (You take your road and I'll
  G    D
 take mine)
                        A     G   D                              D
You take your road and I'll take mine   (You take your road and I'll
   G    D
 take mine)

(solo)  D A G      D A G      D A G      D A G 

A                      G    Bm          A                G        Bm
Life is a road it's a motorway and the road gets rocky along the way
          A                             G         Bm
But if it gets too smooth it's time to call it a day
  D                                          F#
(TR) - Observed all the various phases from flower power, heavy metal 
           Bm                                            G
and acid rock But still all the critics keep saying Are they still
                                                     D
around? When are they gonna stop? They're just the dedicated followers
                                          A 
of fashion who like putting down all the well respected men who kept
                                   D
dancing and they're still on the road - (TR) - Sometimes I get suicidal
     A                       
- (TR) - Now everyone is a rival
Bm                                          G
Different cars, different bars and hotels, corporations, big business

????? ???????
         D
When it all gets too bad I think back
              A                                             D 
When we were all each other had when we started out on the road

A    F#    Bm   G

             D                      A                  G
And there's gas in my tank and I've still got a way to go
D                   A                 F#
Another hotel it's time to check out soon,
           Bm         G      D                          A  
as I look around the room I think of all the friends I left behind on
      G        D
the road