Chords
You Can Call Me Al

You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon is a hit song from the album Graceland released in 1986. The inspiration for the lyrics came from a personal experience of Simon, wherein a friend of his wife mistakenly called him Al and Simons wife Betty, at a party. The vibrant melody and the humorous music video, featuring Chevy Chase lip-syncing to the lyrics while Simon plays various instruments, contributed to its success.

Key: G

Introduction: G    D    C    C    D    G    

difficulty
very easy |||||
G                 D  
A man walks down the street,
         C              D  
he says why am I soft in the middle now,
G             D  
why am I soft in the middle,
C                     D  
the rest of my life is so hard,
G              D  
I need a photo-opportunity,
C                          D  
I want a shot at redemption,
G                              D  
dont want to end up a cartoon,
     C              D  
in a cartoon graveyard,
 G                D  
bonedigger, bonedigger,
C                  D  
dogs in the moonlight,
G        D         C            D  
far away my well-lit door,
      G              D  
Mr. Beerbelly, Beerbelly,
 C                      D  
get these mutts away from me,
        G                D                      C             D  
you know I don' t find this stuff amusing anymore.

G                     D  
If youll be my bodyguard
C                    D      G      D      C  D  
I can be your long lost pal,
G                     D  
I can call you Betty,
      C                    D  
and Betty when you call me
            G              D  C  D  
you can call me Al.

G                 D  
A man walks down the street,
         C              D  
he says why am I short of attention,
G                 D  
got a short little span of attention,
         C              D  
and wo my nights are so long,
G                 D  
wheres my wife and family,
         C              D  
what if I die here,
G                 D  
wholl be my role-model,
         C              D  
now that my role-model is
G                 D  
gone, gone,
         C              D  
he ducked back down the alley
G                 D                 C              D  
with some roly-poly little bat-faced girl,
G                 D  
all along, along
                    C                D  
there were incidents and accidents,
              G                  D             C    D  
there were hints and allegations.

G                     D  
If youll be my bodyguard
C                    D      G      D      C  D  
I can be your long lost pal,
G                     D  
I can call you Betty,
      C                    D  
and Betty when you call me
            G      D     C    D  
you can call me  Al.
          G     D  C  D  
call me Al.

G  C  D  G  C  G  

G                 D  
A man walks down the street,
         C              D  
its a street in a strange world,
G                 D  
maybe its the Third World,
         C              D  
maybe its his first time around,
G                 D  
he doesnt speak the language,
         C              D  
he holds no currency,
G                 D  
he is a foreign man,
         C              D  
he is surrounded by
G                 D  
the sound, the sound,
         C              D  
cattle in the marketplace,
G                 D                     C              D  
scatterlings and orphanages,
G                 D  
he looks around, around,
         C              D  
he sees angels in the architecture,
G                 D  
spinning in infinity,
         C              D  
he says Amen and Hallelujah!

G                     D  
If youll be my bodyguard
C                    D      G      D      C  D  
I can be your long lost pal,
G                     D  
I can call you Betty,
      C                    D  
and Betty when you call me
            G              D  C  D  
you can call me Al.