AEDEAEDEADADADAD
[Verse 1]
A
'Twas Joey the weasel that gave us the wire
DA
They were closin' our factory down
A
Tho' we didn't believe him and we called him a liar
DA
The redundancy letters came 'round
EA
As we read them in silence I choked back a tear
DE
It is hard to believe after twenty-odd years
[Chorus]
ADA
Farewell my companions, my friends and me workmates
EA
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, and the craic
ADA
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
EDA
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
EADADADAD
By making us yesterday's men.
[Verse 2]
A
So we said our goodbyes by the factory gate
DA
One cold Friday evening last year
A
And I saw it all there in the eyes of me mates
DA
The anger the sadness the fear
EA
Like our fathers before us we worked there with pride
DE
Now we fought back the bitterness burning inside.
[Chorus]
ADA
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates
EA
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, and the craic
ADA
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
EDA
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
EADADADAD
By making us yesterday's men.
[Verse 3]
A
Now Ginny said she'd give the kids a few bob,
DA
After all sure it is Friday night
A
Ah, how could I tell her I was out of a job?
DA
From now things were going to be tight
EA
How well I remember it cut like a knife
DE
I was never a day on the dole in my life.
[Chorus]
ADA
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates
EA
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, and the craic
ADA
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
EDA
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
EADADADAD
By making us yesterday's men.
[Verse 4]
A
The machines now are silent, the workbench is bare
DADA
And there's dust on the factory floor
A
They've boarded the windows and they've chained up the gate,
DA
And they've padlocked the factory door,
EA
And I'm on the scrap heap, and I'm thirty-nine
DE
As one of the hundreds shot down in my prime.
[Chorus]
ADA
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates
EA
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, and the craic
ADA
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
EDA
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
EADAD
By making us yesterday's men.
[Chorus]
ADA
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates
EA
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, and the craic
ADA
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
EDA
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
EADAD
By making us yesterday's men.
[Outro]
ADA
Farewell my companions, my friends and my workmates
EA
Farewell to the paydays, the pints, and the craic
ADA
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
EDA
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
EADADADADA
By making us yesterday's men.