A [Verse] A They called him Alexander A With the best band in the land A He'd topped the bill in Paris A But in Venice it was banned A A pile of dusty gold discs A Were among his claims to fame A There was no-one over sixty A Who did not know his name [Chorus] C B7 Alexander you were great Em C The man the critics loved to hate D B7 Em You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones C B7 Alexander you became Em C The lonely housewife's favourite name D Em And you could have been the greatest of them all [Verse] A The gig was held in honour A Of his golden jubilee A He did not need the money A So he said he'd play for free A He got the band together A Who'd been with him through the years A They rehearsed the Alexander songs A And shed nostalgic tears [Chorus] C B7 Alexander you were great Em C The man the critics loved to hate D B7 Em You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones C B7 Alexander you became Em C The lonely housewife's favourite name D Em And you could have been the greatest of them all [Verse] A The crowd rose to their feet A When Alexander hit the stage A His face had been rebuilt A So that you could not tell his age A He played all of the old songs A And the crowd sang every word A He danced like Margot Fonteyn A And whistled like a bird [Chorus] C B7 Alexander you were great Em C The man the critics loved to hate D B7 Em You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones C B7 Alexander you became Em C The lonely housewife's favourite name D Em And you could have been the greatest of them all [Verse] A He came on for the encore A But collapsed against the stand A The crowd was hushed, the doctor came A There was panic in the band A He diagnosed a broken heart A The critics had been fed A Their reviews became A Obituary notices instead [Chorus] C B7 Alexander you were great Em C The man the critics loved to hate D B7 Em You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones C B7 Alexander you became Em C The lonely housewife's favourite name D Em And you could have been the greatest of them all [Chorus] C B7 Alexander you were great Em C The man the critics loved to hate D B7 Em You could have been as big as the Beatles or the Stones C B7 Alexander you became Em C The lonely housewife's favourite name D Em And you could have been the greatest of them all