Thousands Are Sailing

[Verse]
B
The island it is silent now
        E  
But the ghosts still

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

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


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

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

Instrumental: G#m F# C#m B


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

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


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

music and we dance

Instrumental 2:
G#m F# C# E G#m F# C#
G#m  B  F#  C#  G#m  B  F#  C#
G#m  C#m  G#m  E  B  F#  B  F#  B


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

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

music and we dance

G#m F# C# E G#m F# C#
G#m  G#m  B  F#  C#  G#m  B  F#  C#
G#m  C#m  G#m  E  B  F#  B  F#  B