Thousands Are Sailing

Chords

G-Tuning (Baritone)

intro: Gm - Gm - F - Cm
       Gm - Bb - F - Cm - Bb

    Bb
The island it is silent now
         Eb
But the ghosts still haunt the waves
        Bb                Gm
And the torch lights up a famished man
     Cm                F
Who fortune could not save

         Bb
Did you work upon the railroad
         Eb
Did you rid the streets of crime
          Bb               Gm
Were your dollars from the white house
          F                 Bb
Were they from the five and dime

         Gm      
Did the old songs taunt or cheer you
         Eb                 Bb
And did they still make you cry
         Gm
Did you count the months and years
             Cm               F
Or did your teardrops quickly dry

    Bb
Ah, no, says he, 'twas not to be
      Eb
On a coffin ship I came here
      Bb           Gm
And I never even got so far
     F                    Bb
That they could change my name

    Dm
Thousands are sailing
   F               Cm
Across the western ocean
     Bb           Gm
To a land of opportunity
      F                 Cm
That some of them will never see
  Dm
Fortune prevailing
  F                Cm
Across the western ocean
      Gm
Their bellies full
       Bb
Their spirits free
        F                    Cm
They'll break the chains of poverty
            Eb        Gm    F    Cm    Bb-
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 Cohen
Dear old times square's favorite bard

Then we raised a glass to JFK
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
       Eb
But we dance to the music
       Gm       F     Cm X2
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