E E/D# E/C# E/B A/A G/B(pinky on the D) F#/F#m7 B/B7
E E/D#
There's an evenin' haze settlin' over town
E/C# E/B
Starlight by the edge of the creek
A/A E/G#
The buyin' power of the proletariat's gone down
F#m7/F# B7/B
Money's gettin' shallow and weak
E E/D#
Well, the place I love best is a sweet memory
E/C# E/B
It's a new path that we trod
A/A G#/B
They say low wages are a reality
F#/F#m7 B/B7
If we want to compete abroad
E E/D#
My cruel weapons have been put on the shelf
E/C# E/B
Come sit down on my knee
A/A E/G#
You are dearer to me than myself
F#m7/F# B7/B
As you yourself can see
E E/D#
While I'm listening to the steel rails hum
E/C# E/B
Got both eyes tight shut
A/A E/G#
Just sitting here trying to keep the hunger from
F#m7/F# B7/B
Creeping it's way into my gut
Chorus:
A E
Meet me at the bottom, don't lag behind
F#m E
Bring me my boots and shoes
A E
You can hang back or fight your best on the frontline
F#m B7 E
Sing a little bit of these workingman's blues
E E/D#
Well, I'm sailin' on back, ready for the long haul
E/C# E/B
Tossed by the winds and the seas
A/A E/G#
I'll drag 'em all down to hell and I'll stand 'em at the wall
F#m7/F# B7/B
I'll sell 'em to their enemies
E E/D#
I'm tryin' to feed my soul with thought
E/C# E/B
Gonna sleep off the rest of the day
A/A E/G#
Sometimes no one wants what we got
F#m7/F# B7/B
Sometimes you can't give it away
E E/D#
Now the place is ringed with countless foes
E/C# E/B
Some of them may be deaf and dumb
A/A E/G#
No man, no woman knows
F#m7/F# B7/B
The hour that sorrow will come
E E/D#
In the dark I hear the night birds call
E/C# E/B
I can feel a lover's breath
A/A E/G#
I sleep in the kitchen with my feet in the hall
F#m7/F# B7/B
Sleep is like a temporary death
(repeat chorus)
E E/D#
Well, they burned my barn, and they stole my horse
E/C# E/B
I can't save a dime
A/A E/G#
I got to be careful, I don't want to be forced
F#m7/F# B7/B
Into a life of continual crime
E E/D#
I can see for myself that the sun is sinking
E/C# E/B
How I wish you were here to see
A/A E/G#
Tell me now, am I wrong in thinking
F#m7/F# B7/B
That you have forgotten me?
E E/D#
Now they worry and they hurry and they fuss and they fret
E/C# E/B
They waste your nights and days
A/A E/G#
Them I will forget
F#m7/F# B7/B
But you I'll remember always
E E/D#
Old memories of you to me have clung
E/C# E/B
You've wounded me with your words
A/A E/G#
Gonna have to straighten out your tongue
F#m7/F# B7/B
It's all true, everything you've heard
(repeat chorus)
E E/D#
In you, my friend, I find no blame
E/C# E/B
Wanna look in my eyes, please do
A/A E/G#
No one can ever claim
F#m7/F# B7/B
That I took up arms against you
E E/D#
All across the peaceful sacred fields
E/C# E/B
They will lay you low
A/A E/G#
They'll break your horns and slash you with steel
F#m7/F# B7/B
I say it so it must be so
E E/D#
Now I'm down on my luck and I'm black and blue
E/C# E/B
Gonna give you another chance
A/A E/G#
I'm all alone and I'm expecting you
F#m7/F# B7/B
To lead me off in a cheerful dance
E E/D#
I got a brand new suit and a brand new wife
E/C# E/B
I can live on rice and beans
A/A E/G#
Some people never worked a day in their life
F#m7/F# B7/B
Don't know what work even means
(repeat chorus)