[Intro – Riff + Harmonica] E D A E | E D A B (Guitar slide, tambourine, organ swell; crowd “hey!”) [Verse 1 – your lines] E D i walk through the streets with no one beside me A E knowing an aside is something out of Great Gatsby E D I used to read and write than I took a dive A E Not off a stage but in my mind E D And now that AI tools exist this voice remains live A E Generating content like I've been doing it all my life E D Music means just enough to me to care A B And outside the light shatters the noble faire' [Pre-Chorus] C#m A E B Kid, keep your quarters for the train, keep your heart for the song, C#m A E B Numbers run their numbers, but the chorus runs long. [Chorus – big gang sing] A E B C#m Boardwalk confessional, sing it to the pier lights, A E B E Whoa-oh, whoa-oh—dreams in the salt and the street fights. A E B C#m If life’s a ledger, we’ll pay it in melody and time, A E B E Whoa-oh, whoa-oh—raise your hands and cross that line. [Verse 2] E D Anything else I don't quite get, that’s true, A E Spreadsheets whisper math I cannot woo. E D Making money with finance and jobs—forever nyet, A E But I’ve got a half-price hope and a no-regrets cassette. E D I don't mind and I don't care, I have a niche, A B Someday maybe my sound will make me rich. [Pre-Chorus] C#m A E B So tune your doubt like a snare, snap it tight on the two, C#m A E B Let the neon preach the verse till the verse preaches you. [Chorus] A E B C#m Boardwalk confessional, sing it to the pier lights, A E B E Whoa-oh, whoa-oh—dreams in the salt and the street fights. A E B C#m If life’s a ledger, we’ll pay it in melody and time, A E B E Whoa-oh, whoa-oh—raise your hands and cross that line. [Bridge – talk-sing + sax/harmonica answers] C#m A I wrote my rent on a napkin, mailed it to the moon, E B Got a postcard back that said, “Kid, sing soon.” C#m A If wisdom is a chorus and youth is the rhyme, E B (stop) Then shout it on the shoreline—clap on time! [Breakdown – drums, claps, organ pad] E D A E (Whoa-oh) Hey kid, it ain’t easy—(Whoa-oh) but we still try. E D A B (Whoa-oh) Count off four for the broken—(Whoa-oh) we multiply. [Final Chorus – double wide, all in] A E B C#m Boardwalk confessional, sing it to the pier lights, A E B E Whoa-oh, whoa-oh—hope is a crowd on summer nights. A E B C#m If life’s a ledger, we’ll pay it in melody and time, A E B E Whoa-oh, whoa-oh—raise your hands and cross that line. A E B C#m Boardwalk confessional, brass and a tambourine, A E B E Whoa-oh, whoa-oh—we make a choir from everything between. [Outro – Harmonica tag / riff] E D A E (ring) CHORD ROADMAP (quick reference) Intro: E – D – A – E | E – D – A – B Verse: E – D – A – E (x2) | E – D – A – B Pre-Chorus: C#m – A – E – B (x2) Chorus: A – E – B – C#m | A – E – B – E (repeat) Bridge: C#m – A – E – B (x2) Breakdown: E – D – A – E | E – D – A – B Outro: E – D – A – E
