Thousands Are Sailing

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

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

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


[Chorus]
A#m
Thousands are sailing
G#                  D#m
Across the Western Ocean
     A#m
To a land of opportunity
     G#                 D#m
That some of them will never see
A#m
Fortune prevailing
G#                  D#m
Across the Western Ocean
      A#m
Their bellies full

And their spirits free
        G#         
  They'll break the
           D#m
chains of poverty
            F#
And they'll dance

Instrumental: A#m G# D#m C#


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

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


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

music and we dance

Instrumental 2:
A#m G# D# F# A#m G# D#
A#m  C#  G#  D#  A#m  C#  G#  D#
A#m  D#m  A#m  F#  C#  G#  C#  G#  C#


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

with empty plates
      G#                    D#m
From guilt and weeping effigies
       F#  
And we dance to the

music and we dance

A#m G# D# F# A#m G# D#
A#m  A#m  C#  G#  D#  A#m  C#  G#  D#
A#m  D#m  A#m  F#  C#  G#  C#  G#  C#