F C Cmaj7
F C G
F C Cmaj7
I have a friend in Southern California
F C G
We knew each other back home in Georgia
Says if I ever come down to Hollywood
He can get me an honest job that pays good
INSTRUMENTAL BREAK:
F Dm C
G Am G
F C Cmaj7
So I go to the soundstage
End up 10 feet from Charlie Chaplin
He starts talking and looks less like a person
And more like a ventriloquist dummy
Isn’t it funny?
F
Isn’t it funny?
F C Cmaj7
They’re pretending to be immigrants
I don’t have to pretend
They’re the ones in the spotlight
I’m the one plugging it in
F C Cmaj7
F C G
I’m gaffing
They’re laughing
I’m biting my tongue
They’re having fun faking love
But this one scene is taking so many takes
They made her eat eight plates of beans
She might lose her lunch
I’ve got a hunch I’ve got a gnawing suspicion
No one here has experienced malnutrition
I feel mostly bitter but I feel a little glad that there are people in this world who haven’t hurt the way that I have
F C Cmaj7
I’m in a theater
10 rows from Charlie Chaplin
He looks more alive with black and white skin
He says so much more when he’s completely silent
G Am F C
That’s the spell of the silver screen
People can’t sit still in their seats
They giggle uncontrollably
And wriggle till they’re free
G Am F C
That’s the spell of the silver screen
People can’t sit still in their seats
They giggle uncontrollably
And wriggle till they’re free
Shed straightjackets like Houdini
F C Cmaj7
It’s not magic
I know how it’s done
I know how the light enters the lens and the aperture blinks 24 times a second
It’s not magic
I know how all the effects are achieved
But you pull smiles from the trenches like a rabbit from hat
And you could have fooled me
It’s not magic
I know all the tricks
But I see old men smiling like kids and just for a moment I believe it exists
Just for a moment I believe it exists
Just for a moment I believe it exists
I believe it exists
OUTRO:
F Dm C
G Am G