A Tale They Wont Believe

Dm                               
We left Macquarie Harbour it was in 
Dm
the pouring rain
Dm                                
None of us quite sure if we would 
C
see England again
Bb                 C             Dm
Some fool muttered death or liberty
Dm                           Dm
There was six of us together a jolly
 hungry crew
Dm                                
And as the days went by you know 
   C
our hunger quickly grew
Bb                 C              Dm
Some fool muttered death or liberty


[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb              C         
So that night we made a fire out 
  Dm
of twigs and out of bark
C                                 
And our stomachs they were 
       Dm
grumbling all through the night so 
dark
C
We were only trying to keep 
ourselves alive
C                           
But when the sun came up next 
                   A7
morning well the six had turned to 
five, and I said,



[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb   
Right there's another one, don't
     C
 you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town


[Interlude]
Dm C Bb C    x2


[Verse 2]
Dm                                
All five of us were nervous and 
   Dm
I'll tell you that's a fact
        Dm                         
But you should have seen the 
          C
bastard who was carrying the axe
         Bb              C        
He was a sick man he had murder in
     Dm
 his heart
Dm                             
And then we reached the Franklin 
                Dm
River, and it took two days to cross
        Dm                         
We were wet and almost starvin' and
     C
 for food were at a loss
        Bb              C         
We were hungry men with murder on 
    Dm
our minds

[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb              C         
So that night we made a fire out 
  Dm
of twigs and out of bark
        C                          
And our stomachs they were rumbling
     Dm
 all through the night so dark
    C                           Dm
And they were making noises the dead
 could not ignore
             C
And when the sun came up next 
morning
    A7
The five had turned to four! And I 
said,


[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb   
Right there's another one, don't
     C
 you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town


[Interlude]
Dm C Bb C    x2


Continues after the ad
[Verse 3]
         Dm                        
Well the four of us kept marching 
    Dm
to a place called Western Tiers
  Dm                               
A country full of tasty game but 
  C
for us it held no cheer
          Bb           C       
We had no guns we were traveling 
          Dm
without hope
        Dm                         
But the axe it loomed so ominous 
  Dm
and God's hand was at play
       Dm                          
A sick man is a type of game which 
C
can not run away
        Bb            C       
So stay easy, my poor man, your 
            Dm
time's at hand

[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb              C         
So that night we made a fire out 
  Dm
of twigs and out of bark
        C                          
And our stomachs they were rumbling
     Dm
 all through the night so dark
  C                              
I can't say I feel guilty, after all
Dm
 it wasn't me
             C               
But when the sun came up next 
             A7
morning the four had turned to 
three! And I said,


[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb   
Right there's another one, don't
     C
 you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town!


[Interlude]
Dm C Bb C    x2


[Verse 4]
         Dm                        
Well the three of us kept moving 
  Dm
but one was fading fast
            Dm                   
He had been bitten by a snake and 
           C
you could see he would not last
     Bb             C             
Stay easy my good man your time's 
   Dm
at hand
         Dm                        
And when he could last no longer 
  Dm
his days were fading fast
        Dm                      
We were far to weak to carry him 
 C
subsistency comes first
     Bb           C               
Stay easy my good man your time's 
   Dm
at hand


[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb              C         
So that night we made a fire out 
  Dm
of twigs and out of bark
        C                          
And our stomachs they were rumbling
     Dm
 all through the night so dark
   C                          Dm
It was a messy job but it was one we
 had to do
             C               
But when the sun came up next 
                     A7
day(guess what, the three had turned
 to two! And I said,


[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb   
Right there's another one, don't
     C
 you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town!


[Interlude]
Dm C Bb C    x2


[Verse 5]
              Dm                   
Now he'd been looking at me funny, 
        Dm
sort of eyeing me for days
        Dm                      
And you would not need to be too 
           C
bright to know that bastard's ways:
       Bb                 C       
He was a sick man, he had murder 
      Dm
in his heart
         Dm                        
But even bastards have to rest, and
      Dm
 even bastards have to sleep
         Dm                        
And when he was in the land of Nod 
         C
straight over I did creep
        Bb              C         
And the axe that he had wielded 
      Dm
now was mine


[Pre-Chorus]
        Bb                C       
So that night, I made the fire, 
     Dm
out of twigs and out of bark
       C                           
And my stomach it kept rumbling all
 Dm
 through the night so dark
        C                          
I can't say that I enjoyed it, and 
   Dm
it wasn't exactly fun
             C               
But when the sun came up next 
              A7
morning, the two had turned to one! 
And I said,


[Chorus]
Dm             C           Bb   
Right there's another one, don't
     C
 you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
C
When I get down to Hobart town!


[Instrumental]
Dm Dm C Bb C   x4
Dm C Bb C      x4


[Verse 6]
         Dm                        
Well now history is a pack of lies,
    Dm
 as any fool can tell
        Dm                         
So when I got down to Hobart town I
 C
 told my story well
           Bb                 C   
But do you think they would 
             Dm
believe one word I said?
Dm                                
they thought that I was covering 
   Dm
for my mates still at large
               Dm                  
Said they'd be roaming in the bush 
            C
so wild and free
            Bb            C       
And back to old Macquarie Harbour 
          Dm
they sent me


[Pre-Chorus]
      Bb           C              
But I remember the fires made out 
   Dm
of twigs and made of bark
       C                           
And my stomach it was grumbling all
             Dm
 through the night so dark
         C                         
And this young fool he just said to
         Dm
 me it's liberty or death
       C                          
And he looked a rather tasty one, I 
A7
just could not help it singing


[Chorus]
Dm            C            Bb   
right there's another one, don't
     C
 you frown
Dm       C        Bb      C
Chew the meat and hold it down,
Dm     C         Bb      C
It's a tale they won't believe...
     C                 C
When I get down, when I get down,
     C                    Dm   C  
When I get down to Hobart town!
Bb C Dm