verse 1 
               C        Dm    F         G 
Well I turned right on First, left on White Oak 
 F                    C 
Back to my old neighborhood 
C              Dm 
I saw old Doc Randolph 
       F           G 
He was mowing his yard 
F                                   C 
He's kept it up ‘’bout the best he could. 
 Am 
And Evelyn his wife of thirty-two years 
       G 
She smiled as I drove by 
         F                          C 
And she waved from her front porch swing. 
             C        Dm         F           G 
And she went back to readin’ her two dollar novel 
       F                      C 
And playin’ with her wedding ring. 

verse 2 
      C              Dm             F             G 
A few houses needed paintin’, a few gates were unhinged 
      F                             C 
But generally the place looked the same. 
      C             Dm                F     G 
The driveways were full of bikes and Buick sedans 
        F                       C 
Things any good American would claim. 
     Am                         G 
And all them other lovers that married for cover 
          F                           C 
They were out for the sacred nightly stroll. 
          C                   Dm            F           G 
They were wishing they were characters in a two dollar novel 
 F                           C 
Wishing for their weight in gold. 

Interlude 
C   Bb  F    (2x) 

verse 3 
     C      Dm               F             G 
Now Mary Elizabeth, she's my high school sweetheart 
 F                               C 
She married my best high school friend 
    C          Dm              F             G 
He manages the hardware store, she became a nurse 
    F                    C 
And I became a memory to them. 
    Am                                  G 
And all my other buddies they just got lost in outer space 
         F                              C 
And they ran off to serve their country well. 
             C            Dm      F         G 
They're all fighting in a war of two dollar novels 
        F                        C 
Where only the toughest live to tell. 

verse 4 
            C        Dm            F         G 
So I turned right on White Oak and left on First 
 F                      C 
Out of that old neighborhood 
         C             Dm                F              G 
I left Doctor and Mrs. Randolph sipping ice tea on the front porch 
   F                              C 
Wondering if I'd ever come to any good. 
           Am                         G 
And on a thousand shady streets in a thousand other towns 
     F                                    C 
Now people, Lord, they're doing just the same. 
             C            Dm         F         G 
They're all living their lives like two dollar novels 
      F                             C 
And wondering why the world is so insane. 
             C           Dm          F         G 
They're all living their lives like two dollar novels 
          F                                C 
And wondering why there's nothing left to gain.