[INTRO:] G C [VERSE 1:] F C Oh, the neon lights were flashing and the icy wind did blow C/B Am F C The water seeped into his shoes and the drizzle turned to snow F C Am E7 His eyes were red, his hopes were dead and the wine was running low F G And the old man came home C From the forest [VERSE 2:] F C His tears fell on the sidewalk as he stumbled in the street C/B Am F C A dozen faces stopped to stare, but no one stopped to speak F C Am E7 For his castle was a hallway and the bottle was his friend F G And the old man stumbled in C From the forest [VERSE 3:] F C Up a dark and dingy staircase the old man made his way C/B Am F C His ragged coat around him, as upon his cot he lay F C Am E7 And he wondered how it happened that he ended up this way F G Getting lost like a fool C In the forest [VERSE 4:] F C And as he lay there sleeping a vision did appear C/B Am F C Upon his mantle shining, a face of one so dear F C Am E7 Who had loved him in the springtime of a long forgotten year F G When the wildflowers did bloom C In the forest [VERSE 5:] F C She touched his grizzled fingers and she called him by his name C/B Am F C And then he heard the joyful sound of children at their games F C Am E7 In an old house on a hillside, in some forgotten town F G Where the river runs down C G F C From the forest [VERSE 6:] F C With a mighty roar the big jet soars above the canyon streets C/B Am F C And the con men con, but life goes on, for the city never sleeps F C Am E7 And to an old forgotten soldier, the dawn will come no more N.C. F G For the old man has come home C G C From the forest