James Keelaghan - My Old Man
CAPO: 2nd Fret
INTRO: C F G C
G C
My old man was a good old man
G
Skilled in the moulding trade
F C
In the stinking heat of the iron foundry
F G
My old man was made
F G C
Down on his knees in the moulding sand
F G
He wore his trade like a company brand
F C
He was one of the Cyclops' smoky band
F G C F G C
Yes, that was my old man
G C
My old man wasn't really old
G
It's just that I was young
F C
And anyone o'er twelve years old
F G
Was halfway to the tomb
F G C
He was loyal to his workmates all his life
F G
Gave over his pay-pack to his wife
F C
He'd have a few jars on a Saturday night
F G C F G C
Yes, that was my old man
G C
My old man was a union man
G
Worked hard all his days
C F
He understood the system
G
And was wise to the boss' ways
F G C
He said, "If you want what's yours by right
F G
You'll have to struggle with all your might
F C
They'll rob you blind if you don't fight them"
F G C F G C
That was my old man
G C
My old man was a proud old man
G
At home on the foundry floor
F C
Until the day they laid him off
F G
And showed him out the door
F G C
They gave him his card, said, "Times are slack,
F G
We found a machine that has the knack
F C
Of doing your job, so don't come back"
F G C
The end of my old man
G C
My old man was fifty-one
G
What was he to do?
F C
A moulding craftsman on the dole
F G
In nineteen fifty-two
F G C
He felt he'd given all he could give
F G
So he did what thousands of others did
F C
He abandoned hope and the will to live
F G C F G C
They killed him, my old man
G C
My old man he is dead and gone
G
And I am your old man
F C
And my advice to you, my child
F G
Is to fight back while you can
F G C
Beware the man with the silicon chip
F G
Hold on to your job with a good firm grip
F C
'Cause if you don't, you've cashed your chips
F G C
The same as my old man
F C
'Cause if you don't, you've cashed your chips
F G C F G C
The same as my old man