Yesterdays Men

A  E  D  E   A  E  D  E
A  D  A  D   A  D  A  D

[Verse 1]
      A
'Twas Joey the weasel that gave us 
the wire
          D                   A
They were closin' our factory down
        A
Tho' we didn't believe him and we 
called him a liar
      D                      A
The redundancy letters came 'round
      E                      A
As we read them in silence I choked 
back a tear
      D                    
It is hard to believe after 
 E
twenty-odd years

[Chorus]
    A       D              A
Farewell my companions, my friends 
and me workmates
    E                        A
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, 
and the craic
      A             D             
Oh we gave them our best years, 
  A
now they've paid us back,
   E                     D        
By making us yesterday's men sure 
   A
as hell
   E                     A    D   
By making us yesterday's men.
 A   D   A   D   A   D


[Verse 2]
      A
So we said our goodbyes by the 
factory gate
    D                        A
One cold Friday evening last year
      A
And I saw it all there in the eyes 
of me mates
    D                     A
The anger the sadness the fear
         E                    A
Like our fathers before us we worked
 there with pride
       D                          
Now we fought back the bitterness 
E
burning inside.

[Chorus]
Continúa después del anuncio
    A       D              A
Farewell my companions, my friends 
and my workmates
    E                        A
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, 
and the craic
      A             D             
Oh we gave them our best years, 
  A
now they've paid us back,
   E                     D        
By making us yesterday's men sure 
   A
as hell
   E                     A    D   
By making us yesterday's men.
 A   D   A   D   A   D


[Verse 3]
    A
Now Ginny said she'd give the kids a
 few bob,
      D                     A
After all sure it is Friday night
    A
Ah, how could I tell her I was out 
of a job?
     D                          
From now things were going to be 
 A
tight
    E                  A
How well I remember it cut like a 
knife
      D                  E
I was never a day on the dole in my 
life.

[Chorus]
    A       D              A
Farewell my companions, my friends 
and my workmates
    E                        A
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, 
and the craic
      A             D             
Oh we gave them our best years, 
  A
now they've paid us back,
   E                     D        
By making us yesterday's men sure 
   A
as hell
   E                     A    D   
By making us yesterday's men.
 A   D   A   D   A   D


[Verse 4]
      A
The machines now are silent, the 
workbench is bare
            D                  
And there's dust on the factory 
 A       D A
floor
        A
They've boarded the windows and 
they've chained up the gate,
            D                     
And they've padlocked the factory 
A
door,
    E                          A
And I'm on the scrap heap, and I'm 
thirty-nine
   D                        E
As one of the hundreds shot down in 
my prime.

[Chorus]
    A       D              A
Farewell my companions, my friends 
and my workmates
    E                        A
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, 
and the craic
      A             D             
Oh we gave them our best years, 
  A
now they've paid us back,
   E                     D        
By making us yesterday's men sure 
   A
as hell
   E                     A    D   
By making us yesterday's men.
 A   D


[Chorus]
    A       D              A
Farewell my companions, my friends 
and my workmates
    E                        A
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, 
and the craic
      A             D             
Oh we gave them our best years, 
  A
now they've paid us back,
   E                     D        
By making us yesterday's men sure 
   A
as hell
   E                     A    D   
By making us yesterday's men.
 A   D


[Otro]
    A       D              A
Farewell my companions, my friends 
and my workmates
    E                        A
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, 
and the craic
      A             D             
Oh we gave them our best years, 
  A
now they've paid us back,
   E                     D        
By making us yesterday's men sure 
   A
as hell
   E                     A    D   
By making us yesterday's men.
 A   D   A   D   A   D   A