THE AUTOMATIC BOX SET: CHANCE

  A fun little song in the box set with stream of consciousness lyrics from Stipe.  The track is largely electronic and looped, but there is some guitar.  The story seems to be the chance encounters two people share.  There is a point where it sounds like he says "Are you Holden?" as in Holden Caulfield, which is a nice reference to Catcher in the Rye, but I can't say for sure if this is accurate upon further listens.  I've kept the traditional notation here.  It is also difficult to make out what the name of the park is where the playgrounds meet, so I've put a sound alike in "Viewer's Park."  Other posts have Weaver's Park, but it doesn't quite fit unless Stipe is fouling up the pronunciation ...

CHANCE

Chance, chance, chance, chance

Friday bank card yours got stuck
I loaned you a phone quarter

Said "Good luck"
Where are you now?

Me in glasses

Saturday slump
You window shopping

I looked up
Our eyes met, mine are green
You had had a peroxide thing
Call now

Hook me up

Sunday walk

Viewer's Park
I was on the lakeside
Where the playgrounds meet
In bare feet
You said, "Mighty cold today"
You never see what I think
You didn't like your daytime job
I was born to travel

You were a camera

I dropped my keys
I on the northbound

You were asleep
I said, "Are you holding?"
"You wanna ride the silent sky?"
I wrote a story on the fly
You and the tabletop
I said, "I've had enough of this city"

I held a bag of apples
You at the last table
I had had a soy dog
Cafe street side

Tuesday bloom
You wanna be on fire

I said I’d hung the moon
Wednesday grocery

Corner of Vine
You were in the checkout line
I dropped my frozen dinners you helped pick them up

Thursday cab

Rush hour block
You with broken accent

My heart stopped
You laughed, I worried

Chance, chance, chance, chance
Swarming like a dozen crushing blows
All those glances

Midtown dances
Chance

I never looked it up
You hit the sidewalk talking
Said, "I'd read the ads"
Do you?
Where are you?

Will you read this?

Can I see?
Is the city moving faster than I can think?
A minute shy

A passing eye
I know I saw you there
Will you read this?

Can I see you?

What did I see?

Chance, chance, chance, chance
Swimming like a dozen crushing blows
All those midtown dances
Chance

Guys, this is very tedious

Stop

  I've added the notes from the accordion sound at the chorus ... 

CHANCE

Verse Repeat

e|------------|

B|------------|

G|------------|

D|--5-5-5-----|

A|------------|

E|-3-3-3------|

Verse Fill Repeat

e|------|

B|------|

G|------|

D|------|

A|------|

E|-1>3--|

Chorus Notes for Guitar

e|-----------------|

B|-----------------|

G|--4-5-7-2-4------|

D|-5---------3-5---|

A|-----------------|

E|-----------------|