Learn to play "Thousands Are Sailing" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.
For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.
A The island it is silent now D But the ghosts still haunt the waves A F#m And the torch lights up a famished man Bm E Who fortune could not save A Did you work upon the railroad D Did you rid the streets of crime A F#m Were your dollars from the white house E A Were they from the five and dime F#m Did the old songs taunt or cheer you D A And did they still make you cry F#m Did you count the months and years Bm E Or did your teardrops quickly dry A Ah, No, says he 'twas not to be D On a coffin ship I came here A F#m And I never even got so far E A That they could change my name Chorus: F#m Thousands are still sailing E Bm Across the Western Ocean F#m To a land of opportunity E Bm That some of them will never see F#m Fortune prevailing E Bm Across the Western Ocean F#m Their bellies full And their spirits free E Bm They'll break the chains of poverty D And they'll dance In Manhattan's desert twilight In the death of afternoon We stepped hand in hand down Broadway Like the first men on the moon And "The Blackbird" broke the silence As you whistled it so sweet And in Brendan Behan's footsteps I danced up and down the street Then we said goodnight to Broadway Giving it our best regards Tipped our hats to Mr. Cohan Dear old Times Square's favorite bard Then we raised a glass to JFK And a dozen more besides When I got back to my empty room I suppose I must have cried Chorus: Thousands are sailing again across the ocean Where the hand of opportunity draws tickets in a lottery Postcards we're mailing of sky-blue skies and oceans From rooms the daylight never sees And lights don't glow on Christmas trees But we dance to the music and we dance Thousands are sailing across the western ocean Where the hand of opportunity draws tickets in a lottery Where e'er we go, we celebrate The land that makes us refugees From fear of priests with empty plates From guilt and weeping effigies Still we dance to the music and we dance You can simplify chords by removing barre | TransposeReset Font SizeReset Guitar Chord DiagramsA Bm D E F#m Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably. |
If you are also interested in learning how to play "Thousands Are Sailing" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Thousands Are Sailing" by The Pogues.