Thousands Are Sailing

[Verse]
F
The island it is silent now
        A#  
But the ghosts still

haunt the waves
        F            
  And the torch lights
      Dm
up a famished man
    Gm                C
Who fortune could not save
        F
Did you work upon the railroad
        A#
Did you rid the streets of crime
          F       
  Were your dollars
           Dm
from the white house
     C                      F
Were they from the five and dime
        Dm  
Did the old songs

taunt or cheer you
           A#                    F
And did they still make you cry
        Dm
Did you count the months and years
                Gm               C
Or did your teardrops quickly dry
    F
Ah, No, says he 'twas not to be
     A#
On a coffin ship I came here
      F          Dm
And I never even got so far
     C                        F
That they could change my name


[Chorus]
Dm
Thousands are sailing
C                  Gm
Across the Western Ocean
     Dm
To a land of opportunity
     C                 Gm
That some of them will never see
Dm
Fortune prevailing
C                  Gm
Across the Western Ocean
      Dm
Their bellies full

And their spirits free
        C         
  They'll break the
           Gm
chains of poverty
            A#
And they'll dance

Instrumental: Dm C Gm F


[Verse]
F
In Manhattan's desert twilight
       A#
In the death of afternoon
           F    
  We stepped hand
            Dm
in hand on Broadway
               Gm          C
Like the first man on the moon
C        F  
And "The Blackbird"

broke the silence
       A#
As you whistled it so sweet
       F               Dm
And in Brendan Behan's footsteps
            C            F
I danced up and down the street
        Dm
Then we said goodnight to Broadway
       A#           F
Giving it our best regards
           Dm
Tipped our hats to Mister Cohan
         Gm             
  Dear old Times Square's
           C
favourite bard
C       F
Then we raised a glass to J.F.K.
      A#
And a dozen more besides
       F              Dm
When I got back to my empty room
   C                  F
I suppose I must have cried


[Chorus]
Dm
Thousands are sailing
C                  Gm
Again across the ocean
          Dm
Where the hand of opportunity
      C            Gm
Draws tickets in a lottery
Dm
Postcards we're mailing
   C                  Gm
Of sky-blue skies and oceans
     Dm
From rooms the daylight never sees
      C            
  Where lights don't
         Gm
glow on Christmas trees
       A#  
But we dance to the

music and we dance

Instrumental 2:
Dm C G A# Dm C G
Dm  F  C  G  Dm  F  C  G
Dm  Gm  Dm  A#  F  C  F  C  F


[Chorus]
Dm
Thousands are sailing
C                  Gm
Again across the ocean
          Dm
Where the hand of opportunity
      C            Gm
Draws tickets in a lottery
Dm
Where e'er we go, we celebrate
   C                  Gm
The land that makes us refugees
     Dm  
From fear of Priests

with empty plates
      C                    Gm
From guilt and weeping effigies
       A#  
And we dance to the

music and we dance

Dm C G A# Dm C G
Dm  Dm  F  C  G  Dm  F  C  G
Dm  Gm  Dm  A#  F  C  F  C  F