Thousands Are Sailing Song Lyrics And Guitar Chords

Thousands Are Sailing , Irish Song Lyrics and chords. The Pogues Written By Phil Chevron. The sheet music and tin whistle notes are now included plus the basic letter notes for Thousands Are Sailing. This one is about emigration from Ireland during the 80's when unemployment was 20%. I don't know how done the arrangement on this song when it was recorded but it's brilliant The pogues do this in the key of A , so place a capo on the second fret and you will be in key. Back to the list of Pogues Song Lyrics .

[G]The island it is silent now
But the[C] ghosts still haunt the waves
And the[G] torch lights up a[Em] famished man
Who[Am] fortune could not[D] save
Did you[G] work upon the railroad
Did you[C] rid the streets of crime
Were your[G] dollars from the[Em] white  house
Were they[D] from the five and[G] dime
Did the[Em] old songs taunt or cheer you
And did[C] they still make you[G] cry
Did you[Em] count the months and years
Or did your[Am] teardrops quickly[D] dry
Ah,[G] No, says he 'twas not to be
On a[C] coffin ship I came here
And I[G] never even[Em] got so far
That[C] they could change my[G] mind

Chorus:
[Em]Thousands are still sailing
A[D]cross the Western[Am] Ocean
To a[Em] land of opportunity
That[D] some of them will [Am]never see
[Em]Fortune prevailing
A[D]cross the Western[Am] Ocean


Their[Em] bellies full
 And their spirits free
They'll[D] break the chains of[Am] poverty
And they'll[C] dance
 
 

Verse 2
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 Cohan
Dear old Times Square's favorite bard
Then we raised a glass to J.F.K.
And a dozen more besides
When I got back to my empty room
I suppose I must have cried

Chorus 2
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
But we dance to the music And we dance

Chorus 3
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

These are the guitar chords as played by The Pogues.

The intro.
C#m   E B F#m A  E  B  A


[A]The island it is silent now
But the[D] ghosts still haunt the waves
And the[A] torch lights up a[F#m] famished man
Who[B] fortune could not[E] save
Did you[A] work upon the railroad
Did you[D] rid the streets of crime
Were your[A] dollars from the[F#m] white  house
Were they[E] from the five and[A] dime
Did the[F#m] old songs taunt or [E]cheer you
And did[D] they still [A]make you cry
Did you[F#m] count the months and years
Or did [A]your tear[B]drops [F#m]quickly[E] dry
Ah,[A] No, says he 'twas not to be
On a[D] coffin ship I came here
And [A]they never even[E] gave me [A]time
For [E]me to cha[B]nge my[A] name

Chorus:
[C#m]Thousands are still [A]sailing
A[E]cross the Western[B] Ocean
To a[F#m] land of oppor[A]tunity
That[E] some of them will [B]never see
[F#m]Fortune prevailing
A[E]cross the Western[B] Ocean


Their[F#m] bellies full
 And their [A]spirits free
They'll[E] break the chains of[B] pover[F#m]ty
And they'll[F#m] dance
A B E B A,,,,,

[A]In Manhattan's desert twilight
In the [D]death of afternoon
We stepped [A]hand in hand on Broad[F#m]way
Like the [B]first man on the [E]moon
And "The [A]Blackbird" broke the silence
As you [D]whistled it so sweet
And in [A]Brendan Behan's [F#m]footsteps
I fell [E]up and down the [A]street

Then we [F#m]said goodnight to [E]Broadway
Giving [D]it our [A]best regards
Tipped our [F#m]hats to Mister Cohan
[A]Dear old [F#m]Times Square's favourite [E]bard
Then we [A]raised a glass to J.F.K.
And a [D]dozen more besides
When I [A]got back to my [F#m]empty room
I su[E]ppose I must have [A]cried


[C#m]Thousands are sailing
A[E]gain across the [B]ocean
Where the [F#m]hand of oppor[A]tunity
Draws [E]tickets in a [B]lottery
[D]Post[B]cards we're [F#m]mailing
Of [E]sky-blue skies and [B]oceans
From [F#m]rooms the daylight [A]never sees
Where [E]lights don't glow on [B]Christmas trees

D  F#m  E  B  D  A B E  B  
F#m  C#m A E F#m C#m F#m A
E B F#m B F#m B F#m A E A

Repeat above chorus

Phil Chevron was the rhythm guitar player for The Pogues. Phil passed away on Tuesday the 8th of October 2013. His most famous song he contributed to the Pogues was Thousands Are Sailing with Shane MacGowan on lead vocals and backing vocals by Phil. Phil was 56 years old and died of Cancer. Phil lived only 4 miles up the road from where I lived but we never met. Phil's other big hit song ''Faithful Departed'' was a hit for Christy Moore. 


Phil also preformed in the band ''Radiators from Space'' which he co founded and was the lead singer and guitarist . The Radiators broke up in the early 1980's and Phil left Ireland for London. This is where he met the great singer songwriter Shane MacGowan. Phil joined The Pogues in 1984 as their guitar player. Shane was the guitarist but wanted to concentrate on the singing. Phil was in the Pogues when they recorded Rum Sodomy And The Lash whish is regarded by Pogues fans as the best album ever.  R.I.P Phil, you'll be remembered and missed by many in the music game.

The Pogues Lyrics - Thousands Are Sailing

Here are the guitar chords in the key of D. If you use a capo on the 2nd fret while playing these chords you'll be playing in the key of E.

[D]The island it is silent now
But the[G] ghosts still haunt the waves
And the[D] torch lights up a[Bm] famished man
Who[Em] fortune could not[A] save
Did you[D] work upon the railroad
Did you[G] rid the streets of crime
Were your[D] dollars from the[Bm] white  house
Were they[A] from the five and[D] dime
Did the[Bm] old songs taunt or cheer you
And did[G] they still make you[D] cry
Did you[Bm] count the months and years
Or did your[Em] teardrops quickly[A] dry
Ah,[D] No, says he 'twas not to be
On a[G] coffin ship I came here
And I[D] never even[Bm] got so far
That[G] they could change my[D] mind

Chorus:
[Bm]Thousands are still sailing
A[A]cross the Western[Em] Ocean
To a[Bm] land of opportunity
That[A] some of them will [Em]never see
[Bm]Fortune prevailing
A[A]cross the Western[Em] Ocean


Their[Bm] bellies full
 And their spirits free
They'll[A] break the chains of[Em] poverty
And they'll[G] dance

The Pogues Thousands Are Sailing Lyrics and chords

Phil Chevron The Pogues Guitar Player

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The Pogues Tin Whistle Sheet Music Notes For Thousands Are Sailing

​Below is the list of sheet music and tin whistle songs that are in my ebooks. This is the largest collection of tin whistle songs ever put together.[over 800 songs ] Including folk, pop and trad tunes plus German And French songs along with Christmas Carols.
All of the sheet music tabs have been made as easy to play as was possible.
​The price of the ebooks is €7.50 

Letter notes for Thousands Are Sailing By The Pogues

Below is the standard sheet music for Thousands Are Sailing for the while song in a slightly lower key