a great tune written by mr . lennon in 1973 , when he was still 32; john on piano ,
george on guitars , and of course , ringo on drums . the times shown are elapsed time
from the start; tabbed by marty lurvey .
C/B B
when i was a little boy ,
way back home in liverpool ,
C/B ] C
my mama told me , i was great . 0 : 25

verse 2
B
then when i was a teenager ,
i knew that i had got something going ,
C/B ] C
all my friends told me , i was great . 0 : 45

verse 3
B
and now i’m a man ,
a woman took me by the hand ,
C/B ] C
and you know what she told me . . . i was great . 1 : 03

bridge 1
D7
i was in the greatest show on earth ,
for what it was worth .
E ]
now i’m only thirty – two ,
[ E ]
and all i wanna do , is boogaloo! hey! 1 : 25

D – – 2 – – 1 – – 0 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |
riff : A – – – – – – – – – – – 4 – – 3 – – 2 – – 1 – 2 – 3 – 2 – – – – – |
E – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – |

verse 4
B
i looked in the mirror ,
i saw my wife and kids ,
C/B ] C
and you know what they told me . . . i was great . 1 : 44

bridge 2
D7
yes , my name is billy shears ,
you know it has been for so many years .
E ]
now i’m only thirty – two;
[ E ]
and all i wanna do , is boogaloo! 2 : 05

outro
B
hey , hey , hey ,
( hey , hey , hey ) yeah!
C/B ] C
. . . . . . . . i’m the greatest and you better believe it , baby! 2 : 22
E C E C
ho! ho! ho! 2 : 40
E C
i’m gonna be the greatest in this world , ( ho! )
E C
in the next world , and in any world! ( hey! ) 2 : 50
E C E C
alright , alright , alright , alright , alright , alright ,
E C E
alright , alright , alright , alright , alright , alright ,
C E C
oh , oh , oh . . . 3 : 21