Am                                 G                       Am
With achin' heart and steady hand, I'm puttin pen to paper, father dear
    Am                                G                                 Am
I trust these words'll find you and pray that you can read 'em through your tears
      Dm                                 Am
They say a man that's born to sing can scare away his woes
     G                            Am
And banish all his anger and his pain
           Dm                            Am
But the screamin' in my head killed the singin' in my soul
       G                                    Em G Am
And I fear I'll never recall the tune again

[Verse 2]
       Am                            G                        Am     Em G Am
I've trouble with the sleepin', my shadows weight impossible to bear
   Am                         G                        Am
I hear my sister weepin' and callin to me from that other where
     Dm                        Am
The names o' them I loved are carved into my skin
      G                           Am
The greatest crew a fighter ever had
      Dm                         Am
They call us gypsy bastards and say it like it's sin
     G                                                 Em G Am
That all our wars are merry and all our songs are sad.

[Chorus]
 Am                           C                  G
Tell 'em I went out dancin', tell 'em I went to war
 Dm                                    Am  G
Tell 'em whatever you want to all the same
      Am                              C              G
It's said a man dies first when he's parted wi' his soul
     Dm                                   Am    G     Am  Em G Am
And second when folk forget to speak his na  -- a -- me

[Verse 3]
 Am                                G                           Am    Em G Am
Derry born and barely raised, I'd hardly bear to see the place again
          Am                      G                          Am
'Till in merrie bloody England I found myself a brother to the end
       Dm                             Am
It's proper that youre grievin', yer poorer for me leavin'
     G                          Am
The best and fairest any given day
     Dm                            Am
Let Matty, Marco, Luke, and John bless the slab im lyin on
 G                                 Em G Am
Kiss me arse and send me on me way

[Chorus]
 Am                          C                  G
Tell 'em I went out dancin' tell 'em I went to war
 Dm                                    Am  G
Tell 'em whatever you want to all the same
      Am                              C              G
It's said a man dies first when he's parted wi' his soul
     Dm                                   Am    G     Am  Em G Am
And second when folk forget to speak his na  -- a -- me

[Verse 4]
   Am                       G                          Am      Em G Am
A half a dozen monkeys the devil sent to snap me o'er his knee
    Am                                         G                            Am
I slapped their filthy tongues back in their skulls and did it laughin' wickedly
  Dm                                     Am
Smash the right and fuck the left, I'll curse 'em with my dyin' breath
    G                             Am
As bent as each to other I would say
    Dm                         Am
The only drum I march to is me Irish bloody heart
 G                                    Em G Am
kickin' out against its brittle cage.

[Chorus]
 Am                          C                  G
Tell 'em I went out dancin' tell 'em I went to war
 Dm                                    Am  G
Tell 'em whatever you want to all the same
      Am                              C              G
It's said a man dies first when he's parted wi' his soul
     Dm                                   Am    G     Am
And second when folk forget to speak his na  -- a -- me

[Chorus]
 Am                            C                  G
Tell 'em I went down swingin' tell 'em I went to war
 Dm                                    Am  G
Tell 'em whatever you want to all the same
      Am                              C              G
It's said a man dies first when he's parted wi' his soul
     Dm                                   Am    G     Am
And second when folk forget to speak his na  -- a -- me

  Em   G  Am
Speak my name (4x)