B   F#  B
B   F#  B

[Verse]
                                      F#          B
Have you heard of the ship called the good Reuben James?
                                 F#            B
Run by hard fighting men both of honour and of fame
                                      E           B
She flew the stars and stripes of the land of the free
                                      F#            B
But tonight she's in her grave at the bottom of the sea

[Chorus]
B
Oh, tell me, what were their names?
         E
Tell me, what were their names?
    F#                       B
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
B
Tell me, what were their names?
         E               C#m
Tell me, what were their names?
    F#                       B
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?

[Verse]
                                   F#              B
One hundred men went down to their dark and watery graves
                                    F#              B
When that good ship went down, only forty-four were saved
                                    E           B
'Twas the last day of October, they saved forty-four
                                F#           B
From the dark icy water of that cold Iceland shore

[Chorus]
B
Oh, tell me, what were their names?
         E
Tell me, what were their names?
    F#                       B
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
B
Tell me, what were their names?
         E               C#m
Tell me, what were their names?
    F#                       B
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?

[Verse]
                                 F#              B
It was there in the dark of that cold and watery night
                                      F#           B
They watched for the U-boats and they waited for a fight
                              E                 B
Then a whine and a rock and a great explosion's roar
                                  F#         B
They lay the Reuben James on that cold ocean floor

[Chorus]
B
Oh, tell me, what were their names?
         E
Tell me, what were their names?
    F#                       B
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
B
Tell me, what were their names?
         E               C#m
Tell me, what were their names?
    F#                       B
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?

[Instrumental]
B   F#  B
B   F#  B
B   E  B
B   F#  B

[Verse]
                                   F#            B
Many years have passed since those brave men are gone
                                F#                B
Those cold, icy waters, they're still and they're calm
                           E              B
Many years have passed and still I wonder why
                                    F#               B
The worst of men must fight and the best of men must die

[Chorus]
B
Oh, tell me, what were their names?
         E
Tell me, what were their names?
    F#                       B
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?
B
Tell me, what were their names?
         E               C#m
Tell me, what were their names?
    F#                       B
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?