Crooked Jack Guitar Chords And Lyrics
The sheet music for this song is included for the key of G. The tenor banjo chords and the 5 string banjo chords in the key of Em are included.The song was written by Irish folk singer / songwriter Dominic Behan who's father actually wrote Come Out You Black And Tans song, the ukulele chords are included. The song was recently recorded by Irish ballad group The Wallopers. This song describes the hardship endured by The Irish and Scottish men while working on The Hydro Electric Plant at Inverary Argill Scotland, The tune of the song is a slow version of ''Star Of The County Down Song'' Written in 1965, the term ''Ganger'' is used in the song and describes a sort of foreman on a building site who is in charge of a group of men, for example you'd have a gang of men looking after concrete and the man in charge would be ''A Ganger Man''. Recorded by Al O'Donnell who began his interest in folk singing from listening to the great Ewan McColl. Reading through this song it reads very much like McAlpines Fusiliers song which Dominic Behan also penned.
[Em]Come Irishmen both [G]young and [D]stern
With ad[Em]venture in your [D]soul
There are[Em] better ways to [G]spend your [D]days
Than in [Em]working [D]down a [Em]hole
I was tall and true, all of six foot two
But they broke me across the back
By a name I'm known and it's not my own
They call me Crooked Jack
The ganger's blue-eyed boy was I
Big Jack could do no wrong
And the reason simply was because
I could work hard hours and long
I've seen men old before their time
Their faces drawn and gray
I never thought so soon would mine
Be lined the self same way
I've cursed the day that I went away
To work on the hydro dams
For sweat and tears or hopes and fears
Bound up in shuttering jams
They say that honest toil is good
For the spirit and the soul
But believe me boys it's for sweat and blood
That they want you down a hole
With ad[Em]venture in your [D]soul
There are[Em] better ways to [G]spend your [D]days
Than in [Em]working [D]down a [Em]hole
I was tall and true, all of six foot two
But they broke me across the back
By a name I'm known and it's not my own
They call me Crooked Jack
The ganger's blue-eyed boy was I
Big Jack could do no wrong
And the reason simply was because
I could work hard hours and long
I've seen men old before their time
Their faces drawn and gray
I never thought so soon would mine
Be lined the self same way
I've cursed the day that I went away
To work on the hydro dams
For sweat and tears or hopes and fears
Bound up in shuttering jams
They say that honest toil is good
For the spirit and the soul
But believe me boys it's for sweat and blood
That they want you down a hole
About The Song
This song is the sober, spine-cracking cousin of all those jovial navvy tunes. It’s not about laughing through misery — it’s about staring misery dead in the eye and muttering, what was I thinking?”
It begins with a call to Irish lads young and bold — the kind with wanderlust in their bones — warning them there are better ways to spend a life than working like a mole underground. Mining and dam-building? Sure, it’ll turn a man into gravel.
The singer himself was once tall and proud — six-foot-two and straight as a lamppost — until the job bent him like a pretzel. Now they call him Crooked Jack, which sounds like a pirate, but sadly he’s just a walking injury with a nickname.
He was the foreman’s favourite — the blue-eyed boy — because he worked harder than a priest at confessions. “Big Jack could do no wrong” — which is code for:
“We can break his back and he’ll still be grateful for overtime.”
Then comes the sombre truth — he’s seen men grow old decades early. Their faces age like spoiled milk from the brutal work — and he never thought his own fair features would collapse so quickly. Surprise, Jack! Labour doesn’t just break bodies — it steals youth.
He damns the day he left home to work on hydro dams — where hopes and fears get crushed in “shuttering jams.” That’s engineering language for “danger, disaster, and swearing.”
And the grand conclusion:
They say “honest toil builds character.”
That it’s noble, virtuous, good for the soul.
Jack replies in pure Irish clarity:
“Absolute boll''''.”
They don’t want your spirit — they want your sweat, your blood, your bones, and preferably your silence.
It’s a song of:
broken backs
stolen youth
cynical wisdom
industrial betrayal
and painfully earned perspective
In classic Irish fashion, it takes a hard truth — and wraps it in storytelling so sharp you could shave with it.
As we’d say:
“If you want adventure, lads — climb a mountain or kiss a stranger. But don’t go building dams unless you fancy a spine like a question mark.”
This song is the sober, spine-cracking cousin of all those jovial navvy tunes. It’s not about laughing through misery — it’s about staring misery dead in the eye and muttering, what was I thinking?”
It begins with a call to Irish lads young and bold — the kind with wanderlust in their bones — warning them there are better ways to spend a life than working like a mole underground. Mining and dam-building? Sure, it’ll turn a man into gravel.
The singer himself was once tall and proud — six-foot-two and straight as a lamppost — until the job bent him like a pretzel. Now they call him Crooked Jack, which sounds like a pirate, but sadly he’s just a walking injury with a nickname.
He was the foreman’s favourite — the blue-eyed boy — because he worked harder than a priest at confessions. “Big Jack could do no wrong” — which is code for:
“We can break his back and he’ll still be grateful for overtime.”
Then comes the sombre truth — he’s seen men grow old decades early. Their faces age like spoiled milk from the brutal work — and he never thought his own fair features would collapse so quickly. Surprise, Jack! Labour doesn’t just break bodies — it steals youth.
He damns the day he left home to work on hydro dams — where hopes and fears get crushed in “shuttering jams.” That’s engineering language for “danger, disaster, and swearing.”
And the grand conclusion:
They say “honest toil builds character.”
That it’s noble, virtuous, good for the soul.
Jack replies in pure Irish clarity:
“Absolute boll''''.”
They don’t want your spirit — they want your sweat, your blood, your bones, and preferably your silence.
It’s a song of:
broken backs
stolen youth
cynical wisdom
industrial betrayal
and painfully earned perspective
In classic Irish fashion, it takes a hard truth — and wraps it in storytelling so sharp you could shave with it.
As we’d say:
“If you want adventure, lads — climb a mountain or kiss a stranger. But don’t go building dams unless you fancy a spine like a question mark.”
Notes
The guitar chords with all verses.
[1]
[Em]Come Irishmen both [G]young and [D]stern
With ad[Em]venture in your [D]soul,
There are [Em]better ways to [G]spend your [D]days
Than in [Em]working [D]down a [Em]hole.
I was [Em]tall and true, all of [G]six foot [D]two,
But they [Em]broke me a[D]cross the [Em]back,
By a [Em]name I'm known and it's [G]not my [D]own —
They [Em]call me [D]Crooked [Em]Jack.
[2]
The [Em]ganger's blue-eyed [G]boy was [D]I,
Big [Em]Jack could [D]do no [Em]wrong,
And the [Em]reason simply [G]was be[D]cause
I could [Em]work hard [D]hours and [Em]long.
[3]
I've [Em]seen men old be[G]fore their [D]time,
Their [Em]faces [D]drawn and [Em]gray,
I [Em]never thought so [G]soon would [D]mine
Be [Em]lined the [D]selfsame [Em]way.
[4]
I've [Em]cursed the day that [G]I went [D]away
To [Em]work on the [D]hydro [Em]dams,
For [Em]sweat and tears or [G]hopes and [D]fears
Are [Em]bound up [D]in shutterin’ [Em]jams.
[5]
They [Em]say that honest [G]toil is [D]good
For the [Em]spirit and [D]the soul,
But be[Em]lieve me boys, it's [G]for sweat and [D]blood
That they [Em]want you [D]down a [Em]hole.
🎸 Strumming Pattern — 2/4 March↓ ↓↑ 1 & 2 & (Simple driving march feel)
🎵 Fingerpicking Pattern — 2/4(Thumb = bass, i/m fingers = G/B/E)
Generic 2/4 arpeggio:
T i m i
1 & 2 &
Example for Em:
e|-----0-------|
B|---0---0-----|
G|-0-----------|
D|-------------|
A|2------------|
E|0------------|
🪕 VERSE — 3 bars per line (2/4)
[Em]Come Irishmen both [G]young and [D]stern
Em G D
e|--0-----0------------3-----3------------2-----2---------|
B|--0---0--------------0---0--------------3---3-----------|
G|--0-------------------0------------------2--------------|
D|--2-------------------0------------------0--------------|
A|--2-------------------2---------------------------------|
E|--0-------------------3---------------------------------|
With ad[Em]venture in your [D]soul
Em D Em
e|--0-----0------------2-----2------------0-----0---------|
B|--0---0--------------3---3--------------0---0-----------|
G|--0-------------------2------------------0--------------|
D|--2-------------------0------------------2--------------|
A|--2--------------------------------------2--------------|
E|--0--------------------------------------0--------------|
There are[Em] better ways to [G]spend your [D]days
Em G D
e|--0-----0------------3-----3------------2-----2---------|
B|--0---0--------------0---0--------------3---3-----------|
G|--0-------------------0------------------2--------------|
D|--2-------------------0------------------0--------------|
A|--2-------------------2---------------------------------|
E|--0-------------------3---------------------------------|
Than in [Em]working [D]down a [Em]hole
Em D Em
e|--0-----0------------2-----2------------0-----0---------|
B|--0---0--------------3---3--------------0---0-----------|
G|--0-------------------2------------------0--------------|
D|--2-------------------0------------------2--------------|
A|--2--------------------------------------2--------------|
E|--0--------------------------------------0--------------|
- Chords used: Em, G, D — simple but powerful.
- Tempo: slow-moderate 3/4 or 6/8 time (~85 BPM).
- Works beautifully on guitar, banjo, or bouzouki with a steady pulse (down–down–up).
- Optional repeat: after verse 5, repeat verse 1 softly to close.
The guitar chords with all verses.
[1]
[Em]Come Irishmen both [G]young and [D]stern
With ad[Em]venture in your [D]soul,
There are [Em]better ways to [G]spend your [D]days
Than in [Em]working [D]down a [Em]hole.
I was [Em]tall and true, all of [G]six foot [D]two,
But they [Em]broke me a[D]cross the [Em]back,
By a [Em]name I'm known and it's [G]not my [D]own —
They [Em]call me [D]Crooked [Em]Jack.
[2]
The [Em]ganger's blue-eyed [G]boy was [D]I,
Big [Em]Jack could [D]do no [Em]wrong,
And the [Em]reason simply [G]was be[D]cause
I could [Em]work hard [D]hours and [Em]long.
[3]
I've [Em]seen men old be[G]fore their [D]time,
Their [Em]faces [D]drawn and [Em]gray,
I [Em]never thought so [G]soon would [D]mine
Be [Em]lined the [D]selfsame [Em]way.
[4]
I've [Em]cursed the day that [G]I went [D]away
To [Em]work on the [D]hydro [Em]dams,
For [Em]sweat and tears or [G]hopes and [D]fears
Are [Em]bound up [D]in shutterin’ [Em]jams.
[5]
They [Em]say that honest [G]toil is [D]good
For the [Em]spirit and [D]the soul,
But be[Em]lieve me boys, it's [G]for sweat and [D]blood
That they [Em]want you [D]down a [Em]hole.
🎸 Strumming Pattern — 2/4 March↓ ↓↑ 1 & 2 & (Simple driving march feel)
🎵 Fingerpicking Pattern — 2/4(Thumb = bass, i/m fingers = G/B/E)
Generic 2/4 arpeggio:
T i m i
1 & 2 &
Example for Em:
e|-----0-------|
B|---0---0-----|
G|-0-----------|
D|-------------|
A|2------------|
E|0------------|
🪕 VERSE — 3 bars per line (2/4)
[Em]Come Irishmen both [G]young and [D]stern
Em G D
e|--0-----0------------3-----3------------2-----2---------|
B|--0---0--------------0---0--------------3---3-----------|
G|--0-------------------0------------------2--------------|
D|--2-------------------0------------------0--------------|
A|--2-------------------2---------------------------------|
E|--0-------------------3---------------------------------|
With ad[Em]venture in your [D]soul
Em D Em
e|--0-----0------------2-----2------------0-----0---------|
B|--0---0--------------3---3--------------0---0-----------|
G|--0-------------------2------------------0--------------|
D|--2-------------------0------------------2--------------|
A|--2--------------------------------------2--------------|
E|--0--------------------------------------0--------------|
There are[Em] better ways to [G]spend your [D]days
Em G D
e|--0-----0------------3-----3------------2-----2---------|
B|--0---0--------------0---0--------------3---3-----------|
G|--0-------------------0------------------2--------------|
D|--2-------------------0------------------0--------------|
A|--2-------------------2---------------------------------|
E|--0-------------------3---------------------------------|
Than in [Em]working [D]down a [Em]hole
Em D Em
e|--0-----0------------2-----2------------0-----0---------|
B|--0---0--------------3---3--------------0---0-----------|
G|--0-------------------2------------------0--------------|
D|--2-------------------0------------------2--------------|
A|--2--------------------------------------2--------------|
E|--0--------------------------------------0--------------|
Crooked Jack sheet music in G Major
Crooked Jack guitar tab
Crooked Jack tin whistle tab
Here's the chords in the key of Dm.
[Dm]Come Irishmen both [F]young and [C]stern
With ad[Dm]venture in your [C]soul
There are[Dm] better ways to [F]spend your [C]days
Than in [Dm]working [C]down a [Dm]hole
[Dm]Come Irishmen both [F]young and [C]stern
With ad[Dm]venture in your [C]soul
There are[Dm] better ways to [F]spend your [C]days
Than in [Dm]working [C]down a [Dm]hole
