The Wreck Of The Green Cove by Gordon Bok, tabs and chords at PlayUkuleleNET

The Wreck Of The Green Cove

Biography:

Gordon Bok stands out among the various artists that can be lumped into the "Traditional Folk" category. Born in Pennsylvania, he moved to Camden, Maine and it was there in coastal Maine that Bok was influenced by sea-faring culture and its music. He released his first album in 1965 and in 1970 signed to Folk-Legacy records, where he released a number of solo albums, as well as many collaborations with Ann Mayo Muir and Ed Trickett. In 1990 he began releasing music on his own label, Timberhead Music.

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Four years of hard work!

This month of May we celebrated four years on the air. We continue working on the dissemination of this wonderful instrument, thank you for participating in our story!

[Intro]
A E A E A

[Verse 1]
D A
I was broke in old Vancouver
E
Met a mate, an all-time loser
A D
He said he could help me out
A E A E A
So to the tugboat office we set out
D A
Right away, they said, "Me boy,
E A
We'll sign you up this very day"
D A
So to the harbour, unsuspectin'
E A E A
Ridin' high, I made my way

[Verse 2]
D A
When first I saw the old Green Cove
E
Her keel was bent, her pipes were stoved
A D
The decks were leaking on the bunks
A E A E A
And the paint was peelin' off in chunks
D A
The engine-room was thick with grease
E A
The stack with rust, was eaten through
D A
Deck-head, it was all a shambles
E A E A
Towline broken right in two

[Verse 3]
D A
I went aboard and the mate was drunk
E
The skipper passed out in his bunk
A D
The chief was in an awful pain
A E A E A
With a bout of the rheumatis again
D A
In despair, I wandered aft
E A
The bilge in the galley was knee-deep
D A
Dirty dishes in the sink
E A E A
And the rats around the shelves did creep

[Instrumental]
D A E A E A

[Verse 4]
D A
I'll never know how we made it out
E
From the dockside in and round about
A D
Past Brockton Point in a terrible fog
A E A E A
The Green Cove ridin' like a log
D A
But the fog in the mate's befuddled mind
E A
Was thicker than it was outside
D A
As at the wheel he weaved and swayed
E A E A
We set out on our fateful ride

[Verse 5]
D A
That night as I heard the mate a-snorin'
E
Keeping time to teredos borin'
A D
I tried my darnedest not to think
A E A E A
Of the long ride down if the boat should sink
D A
Late that night, a storm come up
E A
The pump gave out and the seas come in
D A
And I had to pump her out by hand
E A E A E A
And I swore, by god, that the sea would win

[Verse 6]
D A
By luck we reached our destination
E
A windswept bay, sheer desolation
A D
Blowin' hard, blowin' cold
A E A E A
Coldest night of the year, I'm told
D A
We tied the tug up to the tow
E A
There wasn't much else that we could do
D A
The skipper says, "Boys, let 'er blow
E A E A
We'll patch her up as good as new"

[Verse 7]
D A
Well, three days passed and the wind died down
E
We set off towin' logs to town
A D
But a mightier wind was yet to blow
A E A E A
But how in the Hell were we to know?
D A
But old Dame Fortune served us well
E A
As past the Refuge we did wind
D A
Potato Point and Harwood Island
E A E A
Towin' logs and makin' time

[Verse 8]
D A
But this good luck that we could not match
E
Gave out when we reached the Cabbage Patch
A D
Down Malaspina we did trail
A E A E A
A westerly upon our tail
D A
We rounded Scotch Fir, turned up Jervis
E A
Buckin' tide all on the way
D A
Made poor time over Agamemnon
E A E A
Had to tie up in Boom Bay

[Verse 9]
D A
Well, the wind died down and we set off
E
But the engine soon began to cough
A D
And the matched-up seams began to leak
A E A E A
And the old boat she did groan and creak
D A
Oh, we was desperate, low on vittles
E A
Had some coffee and some tea
D A
And a dozen cans of Campbell's finest
E A E A
Chicken Noodle and Green Pea

[Verse 10]
D A
Off Merry Island, late that night
E
A storm come down, it was a fright
A D
Trail Islands we knew we must reach
A E A E A
Or the tow would soon be on the beach
D A
But the skipper he was reading Climax
E A
Missed the channel in the dark
D A
With a sickenin' grindin' and a crash
E A E A
He'd piled her up on the Southeast Rock

[Verse 11]
D A
He piled her up, he bent her wheel
E
He cracked her sternpost, broke her keel
A D
And off that rock we felt her slide
A E A E A
With a sickenin' list to the starboard side
D A
Well, the winds did howl and the seas did roar
E A
And the Green Cove she went three times round
D A
Whistled us a last farewell
E A E A E A
And slithered forty fathoms down

[Verse 12]
D A
Now the skipper and the mate grabbed the only lifeboat
E
Rowed like Hell from the sinking tugboat
A D
Rowin' hard for the nearest land
A E A E A
The last they were seen by woman or man
D A
And the chief, that skunk from Campbell River
E A
Grabbed the life-rings, one, two, three
D A
Left me there with a hemlock sliver
E A E A
Tossin' round on the stormy sea

[Verse 13]
D A
I was washed up at the break of day
E
Along the shores of Sargent Bay
A D
The only survivor of that gale
A E A E A
That's left to tell this mournful tale
D A
And now that you have heard my story
E A
You'll know why, forever more
D A
I'll never go to sea again
E A E A
I'm quite contented here on shore