Yesterday's Men Lyrics And Chords
This Irish folk song is about being made redundant from a factory where you've worked most of your life. Written by Phil Coulter and made famous by The Fureys And Davie Arthur. The guitar chords are by Marc Fahrbach and video by The Fureys And Davie Arthur [ songs ]. Also recorded by Celtic Thunder. This is one of the songs by The Furey's that turned into a pub song around the bars in Ireland, especially Dublin, it's usually sang by lads who work or used to work on the building sites, as they can relate to the song's lyrics.
(G)'Twas Joey the weasel that gave us the wire,
They were (C)closing our factory (G)down
Though we didn't believe him and we called him a liar,
The (C)redundancy letters came (G)round
As we (D)read them in silence, I (G)choked back a tear,
It was (C)hard to believe after (D)twenty-odd years
Chorus:
(G)Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates
Fare(D)well to the paydays, the (G)pints and the craic
Oh, we (C)gave them our best years now (G)they've paid us back,
By (D)making us yesterday's (C)men, sure as (G)hell,
By (D)making us yesterday's (G)men
(G)So We said our goodbyes by the factory gates,
One (C)cold Friday evening last (G)year
And I saw it all there in the eyes of my mates,
The (C)anger, the sadness, the (G)fear
Like our (D)fathers before us we (G)worked there with pride,
Now we (C)fought back the bitterness (D)burning inside
Chorus
(G)Ah Now Jimmy, said she, give the kids a few bob,
After (C)all, sure it is Friday (G)night
But how could I tell her I was out of a job,
From (C)now on things were going to be (G)tight
How (D)well I remember it (G)cut like a knife,
I was (C)never a day on the (D)dole in my life
Chorus
(G)The machines now are silent, the workbenches bare,
And there's (C)dust on the factory (G)floor
They've boarded the windows and have chained up the gates,
And have (C)padlocked the factory (G)door
Now (D)I'm on the scrap-heap, and (G)I'm thirty-nine,
Just (C)one of the hundreds, shot (D)down in my prime
They were (C)closing our factory (G)down
Though we didn't believe him and we called him a liar,
The (C)redundancy letters came (G)round
As we (D)read them in silence, I (G)choked back a tear,
It was (C)hard to believe after (D)twenty-odd years
Chorus:
(G)Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates
Fare(D)well to the paydays, the (G)pints and the craic
Oh, we (C)gave them our best years now (G)they've paid us back,
By (D)making us yesterday's (C)men, sure as (G)hell,
By (D)making us yesterday's (G)men
(G)So We said our goodbyes by the factory gates,
One (C)cold Friday evening last (G)year
And I saw it all there in the eyes of my mates,
The (C)anger, the sadness, the (G)fear
Like our (D)fathers before us we (G)worked there with pride,
Now we (C)fought back the bitterness (D)burning inside
Chorus
(G)Ah Now Jimmy, said she, give the kids a few bob,
After (C)all, sure it is Friday (G)night
But how could I tell her I was out of a job,
From (C)now on things were going to be (G)tight
How (D)well I remember it (G)cut like a knife,
I was (C)never a day on the (D)dole in my life
Chorus
(G)The machines now are silent, the workbenches bare,
And there's (C)dust on the factory (G)floor
They've boarded the windows and have chained up the gates,
And have (C)padlocked the factory (G)door
Now (D)I'm on the scrap-heap, and (G)I'm thirty-nine,
Just (C)one of the hundreds, shot (D)down in my prime