INTRO: Dm A7 Dm A7
verse 1
Dm
Well, I had the contract with me
Gm
I was opening for a star
C
I'd seen him on the concert stage
Dm
I'd watched him from afar
F
I hadn't heard much lately
C
Of anything he'd done
Dm
But he sang songs of rights and wrongs
A7
Of those who'd lost or won
verse 2
Dm
So it was in a run down nightclub
Gm
In a broken part of town
C
I was on the long way up
Dm
He was on the long way down
F
I saw him in a corner
C
Playing pinball, killing time
Dm
I asked him how he was
A7
And with a smile he answered "Fine"
With a smile he answered "Fine"
Then he said
F
"Sonny, it's the same old pinball
Dm
I played ten years ago
C
Now it's just like me, friend
F C F
The action's getting slow
I've been to the top friend
Dm
Now I'm way down low
C
Still playing the same old pinball clubs
F Dm A7 Dm A7
I played ten years ago"
verse 3
Dm
Well, never meet your heroes
Gm
I've read that line somewhere
C
They're just like you and me
Dm
With all our hope and our despair
F
I said “It's never that bad
C
There's always one more day
Dm
There's always one more song to sing
A7
And one more tune to play"
verse 4
Dm
Well, he just looked me up and down
Gm
And then he slowly shook his head
C
He said "To stay alive, try 9 to 5
Dm
To earn your daily bread"
F
I said "You were my idol
C
You handed me this dream"
Dm
He turned away and pointed
A7
To the battered old machine
That battered old machine
And he said
F
"Sonny, it's the same old pinball
Dm
I played ten years ago
C
Now it's just like me, friend
F C F
The action's getting slow
I've been to the top friend
Dm
Now I'm way down low
C
Still playing the same old pinball clubs
F Dm A7 Dm A7
I played ten years ago"
VERSE 5
Dm
He said "I made a lot of money
Gm
And I drank a lot of wine
C
I paid for all my pleasures
Dm
And I had a real good time
F
I never stayed in one place
C
Longer than a day
Dm
I gave them pearls and told the girls
A7
I really couldn't stay"
VERSE 6
Dm
"But where, where'd it go to sonny?
Gm
It came and went so fast
C
It's far too easy nowadays
Dm
To live back in the past
F
But I'm still good for doing
C
What I've always done
Dm
There hasn't been a house yet
A7
I haven't fought and won
I haven't fought and won."
Then he said
F
"Sonny, it's the same old pinball
Dm
I played ten years ago
C
Now it's just like me, friend
F C F
The action's getting slow
I've been to the top friend
Dm
Now I'm way down low
C
Still playing the same old pinball clubs
F Dm A7 Dm A7
I played ten years ago"
VERSE 7
Dm
"So now they're out there waiting
Gm
And they don't know who you are
C
They don't care for your future
Dm
They'll just prop up the bar
F
And you, you'll sing your heart out
C
And maybe some will hear
Dm
And maybe you'll come back
A7
And play this place again next year"
VERSE 8
Dm
"So, go on and do your set now, sonny
Gm
Before they get too drunk
C
And please, don't count them, sonny
Dm
These glasses that I've sunk
F
I'll do my show, remember
C
I've never lost them yet
Dm
But sonny, sometimes lately
A7
It's been an even bet
It's been an even bet."
Then he said
F
"Sonny, it's the same old pinball
Dm
I played ten years ago
C
Now it's just like me, friend
F C F
The action's getting slow
I've been to the top friend
Dm
Now I'm way down low
C
Still playing the same old pinball clubs
F Dm A7 Dm A7
I played ten years ago"
VERSE 9
Dm
He's long gone and forgotten
Gm
His name you never knew
C
But what reminded me
Dm
Was when I turned and looked at you
F
Standing there so happy
C
With your new guitar and dreams
Dm
One question for you, sonny
A7
Can you play these machines
Can you play these machines
F
'Cause sonny it's the same old pinball
Dm
He played ten years ago
C
And now it's just like me friend
F C F
The action's getting slow
I've been to the top friend
Dm
And now I'm way down low
C
Still playing the same old pinball clubs
F
I played ten years ago"
C
Yes, I'm playing the same old pinball clubs
F
I played ten years ago"