(intro) FGAmFGCFGFGAmGFAm
I'm an ordinary man, nothing special, nothing grand,
FGAm
I've had to work for everything I own.
AmGFAm
I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I'd got,
FGAm
enough to keep my family and my home.
FGCAm
Now they say that times are hard and they've handed me my cards,
FE
they say there's not the work to go around.
AmGFAm
And when the whistle blows, the gates will finally close,
FGAm
tonight they're going to shut this factory down,
FGAmFGAm
then they'll tear it do……..wn.
AmGFAm
I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay,
FGAm
for twenty years I served them best I could,
AmGFAm
now with a handshake and a cheque it seems so easy to forget,
FGAm
loyalty through the bad times and through good.
FGCAm
The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad,
FE
but the captains of industry won't let him lose.
AmGFAm
He still drives a car and smokes his cigar,
FGAm
and still he takes his family on a cruise,
FGAmFGAm
he'll never lo……....se.
AmGFAm
Now it seems to me such a cruel irony,
FGAm
he's richer now than ever he was before.
AmGFAm
Now my cheque is spent and I can't afford the rent,
FGAm
there's one law for the rich, one for the poor.
FGCAm
Every day I've tried to salvage some of my pride,
FE
to find some work so's I might pay my way.
AmGFAm
Oh, but everywhere I go, the answer's always "No !"
FGAm
there's no work for anyone here today,
FGAmFGFG
no work tod……..…ay.“
AmGFAm
And so condemned I stand, just an ordinary man,
FGAm
like thousands beside me in the queue.
AmGFAm
I watch my darling wife trying to make the best of life,
FGAm
and God knows what the kids are going to do.
FGCAm
Now that we are faced with this human waste,
FE
a generation cast aside.
AmGFAm
For as long as I live, I never will forgive,
FGAm
you've stripped me of my dignity and pride.
FGAmFGAm (2x)
You've stripped me ba……...re. (3x)
( FGCFEAmGFAmFGAm )