Thousands Are Sailing
The PoguesVersion1
90
Chords in this song
Strum
D-DU-UDU
Intro
The island it is silent now
But the ghosts still haunt the waves
And the torch lights up a famished man
Who fortune could not save
Did you work upon the railroad
Did you rid the streets of crime
Were your dollars from the white house
Were they from the five and dime
Did the old songs taunt or cheer you
And did they still make you cry
Did you count the months and years
Or did your teardrops quickly dry
Ah, No, says he 'twas not to be
On a coffin ship I came here
And I never even got so far
That they could change my mind
Thousands are still sailing
Across the Western Ocean
To a land of opportunity
That some of them will never see
Fortune prevailing
Across the Western Ocean
Their bellies full
And their spirits free
They'll break the chains of poverty
And they'll dance
In Manhattan's desert twilight
In the death of afternoon
We stepped hand in hand on Broadway
Like the first man on the moon
And "The Blackbird" broke the silence
As you whistled it so sweet
And in Brendan Behan's footsteps
I danced up and down the street
Then we said goodnight to Broadway
Giving it our best regards
Tipped our hats to Mister Cohan
Dear old Times Square's favourite bard
Then we raised a glass to J.F.K.
And a dozen more besides
When I got back to my empty room
I suppose I must have cried
Thousands are sailing
Again across the ocean
Where the hand of opportunity
Draws tickets in a lottery
Postcards we're mailing
Of sky-blue skies and oceans
From rooms the daylight never sees
Where lights don't glow on Christmas trees
But we dance to the music And we dance
Thousands are sailing
Across the Western Ocean
Where the hand of opportunity
Draws tickets in a lottery
Where e'er we go, we celebrate
The land that makes us refugees
From fear of Priests with empty plates
From guilt and weeping effigies
And we dance
D Fm E B /*repeat to fade*/
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Readable chord sheet for Thousands Are Sailing by The Pogues
Intro [F#m] [E] [Bm] [A] The [A]island it is silent now But the [D]ghosts still haunt the waves And the [A]torch lights up a [F#m]famished man Who [Bm]fortune could not save [E] [E]Did you [A]work upon the railroad Did you [D]rid the streets of crime Were your [A]dollars from the white[F#m] house Were [E]they from the five and dime [A] Did the [F#m]old songs taunt or cheer you And did [D]they still make you cry [A] Did you [F#m]count the months and years Or did your tear[Bm]drops quickly dry [E] Ah, [A]No, says he 'twas not to be On a [D]coffin ship I came here And I [A]never even [F#m]got so far That [E]they could change my mind [A] [F#m]Thousands are still sailing A[E]cross the Western [Bm]Ocean To a [F#m]land of opportunity That [E]some of them will [Bm]never see [F#m]Fortune prevailing [E]Across the Western [Bm]Ocean Their [F#m]bellies full And their spirits free They'll [E]break the chains of [Bm]poverty And they'll [D]dance [F#m] [E] [B] [D] [F#m] [E] [B] [F#m] [Bm] [F#m] [D] [A] [E] [A] [E] [A] In Manhattan's desert twilight In the death of afternoon We stepped hand in hand on Broadway Like the first man on the moon And "The Blackbird" broke the silence As you whistled it so sweet And in Brendan Behan's footsteps I danced up and down the street Then we said goodnight to Broadway Giving it our best regards Tipped our hats to Mister Cohan Dear old Times Square's favourite bard Then we raised a glass to J.F.K. And a dozen more besides When I got back to my empty room I suppose I must have cried Thousands are sailing Again across the ocean Where the hand of opportunity Draws tickets in a lottery Postcards we're mailing Of sky-blue skies and oceans From rooms the daylight never sees Where lights don't glow on Christmas trees But we dance to the music And we dance Thousands are sailing Across the Western Ocean Where the hand of opportunity Draws tickets in a lottery Where e'er we go, we celebrate The land that makes us refugees From fear of Priests with empty plates From guilt and weeping effigies And we dance D F