Sons of Maxwell - Mr. Tanner (with Lyrics).wmv

This lovely Harry Chapin tune is well done by Sons of Maxwell on their "Bold Frontier" album released in 1994. I have always loved this song and it is beautiful in this version. Dave Carroll sings the lead and Don sings Mr. Tanner's part. Enjoy!

Sons of Maxwell is comprised of the base of Halifax-based brothers Don and Dave Carroll. They are backed by numerous talented musicians throughout the years.

Lyrics by Harry Chapin, as sung by Sons of Maxwell:
Mister Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest.
Of all the cleaning shops around he'd made his the best.
But he also was a baritone who sang while hanging clothes.
He practiced scales while pressing tails and sang at local shows.
His friends and neighbors praised the voice that poured out from his throat.
They said that he should use his gift instead of cleaning coats.

But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
And it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.

His friends kept working on him to try music out full time.
A big career and rave reviews, a great career to climb.
Finally they got to him, he would take the fling.
A concert agent in New York agreed to have him sing.
And there were plane tickets, phone calls, money spent to rent the hall.
It took most of his savings, but he gladly used them all.

Music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
and it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good.
He sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.

The evening came, he took the stage, his face set in a smile.
And in the half filled hall the critics sat watching in the aisle.
But the concert was a blur to him, spatters of applause.
He did not know how well he sang, he only heard the flaws.
But the critics were concise, it only took four lines.
No one could accuse them of being over kind.

"Mr. Martin Tanner, Baritone, of Dayton, Ohio made his
Town Hall debut last night. He came well prepared, but unfortunately
his presentation was not up to contemporary professional standards.
His voice lacks the range of tonal color necessary to make it
consistently interesting."
Full time consideration of another endeavor might be in order.

He got back to Dayton he was questioned by his friends.
But he smiled and just said nothing and he never sang again,
Excepting very late at night when the shop was dark and closed.
He sang softly to himself as he sorted through the clothes.

Music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
And it made him feel so happy, and it made him feel so good.
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole.

And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
He did not know how well he sang, it just made him whole.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Sons of Maxwell
• Mr. Tanner
• Harry Chapin
• Bold Frontier
• folk songs
• Nova Scotia
• Halifax
• brothers
• Dave Carroll
• Don Carroll
• Celtic music
• Newfoundland music
• Canadian music

[MyMoppet52]

@maximumblue How nice to have that memory. He must have enjoyed his work. (I love this song though it is quite sad for me.) I'm glad to know that your grandpa sang. Thank you for letting me know about your ties to this song. My very best to you, Moppet (Barbara)

[maximumblue]

my grandpa was a house painter who sang when he worked.