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                     E
It is hard to believe after 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               A
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
   E                     D           A
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
   E                     A    D    A   D   A   D   A   D
By making us yesterday's men.

[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                          E
Now we fought back the bitterness burning inside.

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

[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                           A
From now things were going to be 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               A
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
   E                     D           A
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
   E                     A    D    A   D   A   D   A   D
By making us yesterday's men.

[Verse 4]
      A
The machines now are silent, the workbench is bare
            D                   A       D A
And there's dust on the factory floor
        A
They've boarded the windows and they've chained up the gate,
            D                     A
And they've padlocked the factory 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               A
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
   E                     D           A
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
   E                     A    D    A   D
By making us yesterday's men.

[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               A
Oh we gave them our best years, now they've paid us back,
   E                     D           A
By making us yesterday's men sure as hell
   E                     A    D    A   D
By making us yesterday's men.

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