Frank Turner – Balthazar Impresario (Guitar)

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Versions (2)

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Chords

[Verse 1]
            D
My name is Balthazar, Impresario

             Em                          D
And you'll find me at the bottom of the page

            D
I have artist's hands, though I'm a working man

          Em                            D
But my craft has been forgotten by the age

       A                                  G
So tonight will be my last night on the stage
[Verse 2]
              D
This is my family's trade, my father built this place

           Em                         D
At the turning of the twentieth century

                D
I have been working here, for some fifty years

          Em                                D
But the young these days are glued to TV screens

         A                         G
And the old girl is dying on her feet
[Chorus]
G                 Bm
Once more to the boards

                  F#m
One more curtain call

                   Em                             G
Give the crowd everything they're asking for and more

                  Bm
Always make them laugh

                  F#m
Try to make them cry

                  Em                                   D
Always take the stage like it's the last night of your life
[Verse 3]
                   D
My friends from theatre school all thought I was a fool

       Em                              D
For leaving Shakespeare for the music hall

             D
And now my son's left home, and set out on his own

          Em                                    D
And the critics think we're quaint but set to fall

            A                             G
But they've only seen the show from the stalls
[Chorus]
G                 Bm
Once more to the boards

                  F#m
One more curtain call

                   Em                             G
Give the crowd everything they're asking for and more

                  Bm
Always make them laugh

                  F#m
Try to make them cry

                  Em                                   G
Always take the stage like it's the last night of your life
[Bridge 1]
G                        Bm                          F#m
And all the things I've seen behind these tattered seams

             Em                                         G
And all the upturned faces with the lamplight in their eyes

                    Bm                     F#m
And each imperfect turn flickers as it burns

               Em                             A
Only lasts a moment but for me they'll never die
[Bridge 2]
           G
We are respected

             A
We're not remembered

                         G
We are the ghosts of Vaudeville

               A
Unnumbered

                           G
We are the fathers of the halls

                          A
Yeah but we'll never be famous

                                          G
We aren't just artists, we are something more:
We're entertainers [Instrumental] G D F#m Em G G D F#m Em G [Verse 4]
              D
I smooth my thinning hair in a gilded mirror

    Em                               D
To try to hide the tell-signs of my age

             D
My name is Balthazar, Impresario

        Em                                 D
And tonight will be my last night on the stage.