[Intro]
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The battle of Yorktown
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seventeen-eighty-one
[Verse]
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Monsieur Hamilton Monsieur Lafayette In command where you belong How you say, no sweat
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We're finally on the field We've had quite a run Immigrants We get the job done
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So what happens if we win? I go back to France I bring freedom to my people if I'm given the chance
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We'll be with you when you do Go lead your men See you on the other side 'Til we meet again, let's go
[Chorus]
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I am not throwin' away my shot
F/A C Dm
I am not throwin' away my shot
Dm F G
Hey yo, I'm just like my country, I'm young Scrappy and hungry
F/A C Dm
And I'm not throwin' away my shot
Dm F G
I am not throwin' away my shot
F/A C Dm
'Til the world turns upside down
F G
'Til the world turns upside down
[Verse]
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I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory This is where it gets me: on my feet The enemy ahead of me
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If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me Weapon in my hand, a command, and my men with me
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Then I remember my Eliza's expecting me Not only that, my Eliza's expecting
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We gotta go, gotta get the job done Gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son
[Chorus]
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Take the bullets out your gun (what?) The bullets out your gun (what?)
F/A C Dm
We move under cover and we move as one
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Through the night, we have one shot to live another day
F/A C Dm
We cannot let a stray gunshot give us away
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We will fight up close, seize the moment and stay in it
F/A C Dm
It's either that or meet the business end of a bayonet
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The code word is 'Rochambeau,' dig me? Rochambeau
F/A C Dm
You have your orders now, go, man, go
[Verse]
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And so the American experiment begins With my friends all scattered to the winds
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Laurens is in South Carolina, redefining bravery We'll never be free until we end slavery
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When we finally drive the British away Lafayette is there waiting In Chesapeake Bay
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How did we know that this plan would work? We had a spy on the inside That's right
[Chorus]
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Hercules Mulligan A tailor spyin' on the British government
F/A C Dm
I take their measurements, information and then I smuggle it (up)
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To my brother's revolutionary covenant
F/A C Dm
I'm runnin' with the Sons of Liberty and I am lovin' it
Dm F G
See, that's what happens when you up against the ruffians
F/A C Dm
We in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it
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Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction
F/A C Dm
When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again
Dm
After a week of fighting, a young man in a red coat stands on a parapet
Dm
We lower our guns as he frantically waves a white handkerchief
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And just like that, it's over We tend to our wounded, we count our dead
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Black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom
N.C.
Not yet
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We negotiate the terms of surrender I see George Washington smile
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We escort their men out of Yorktown They stagger home single file
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Tens of thousands of people flood the streets There are screams and church bells ringing
G/B A
And as our fallen foes retreat I hear the drinking song they're singing
Dm G
The world turned upside down
Dm G
The world turned upside down
Dm G
The world turned upside down
F/D G/D
The world turned upside down
Dm F G G/A
Down, Down, down, down Freedom for America, freedom for France
Dm F G G/A
Down, down, down Gotta start a new nation Gotta meet my son
Dm F G G/A
Down, down, down We won, We won, We won, We won
F G Dm
The world turned upside down