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The Stowaway by Jon Wilks
The Stowaway
Tuning:E A D G B E
Capo:no capo
[Intro]
Gb Db Gb Db
[Verse 1]
Gb Db
From Liverpool across the Atlantic
Bbm Ab
A big ship was sailing the deep
Gb Db
The stars shining brightly above us
Bbm Ab Gb
And the water beneath us asleep
[Verse 2]
Gb Db
Not a bad-tempered mariner amongst us
Bbm Ab
And a jollier crew never sailed
Gb Db
Though the first mate's a bit of a savage
Bbm Ab Gb
A fine seaman as ever man hailed
[Verse 3]
Gb Db
One day he comes up from below deck
Bbm Ab
And he's grasping a lad by the arm
Gb Db
A poor little ragged young urchin
Bbm Ab Gb
That ought to have been with his ma
[Verse 4]
Gb Db
And the mate asks the boy pretty roughly
Bbm Ab
How he dared for to be stowed away
Gb Db
He's cheating the owners and captain
Bbm Ab Gb
It's passage and board without pay
[Verse 5]
Gb Db
"My step-father brought me on board sir
Bbm Ab
When nobody else was on board
Gb Db
And he hid me away down the stairs there
Bbm Ab Gb
For to keep me he could not afford
[Verse 6]
Gb Db
And he told me the big ship would take me
Bbm Ab
To Halifax town oh so far
Gb Db
He said, "Remember the Lord is your father
Bbm Ab Gb
Who lives where the good angels are"
[Verse 7]
Gb Db
That's a lie, that's a lie, not your father
Bbm Ab
But one of the big skulkers here
Gb Db
Some milk-hearted, soft-headed sailor
Bbm Ab Gb
Tell the truth now or die, do you hear?
[Verse 8]
Gb Db
Then that pair of blue eyes bright and winning
Bbm Ab
Clear and shining with innocent youth
Gb Db
Looks up at the mate's bushy eyebrows
Bbm Ab Gb
And says, "Sir, I've been telling the truth"
[Verse 9]
Gb Db
Then the mate pulled a watch from his pocket
Bbm Ab
As though he was drawing a knife
Gb Bb Db
"If in five minutes' time you don't speak, lad
Bbm Ab Gb
Here's a rope and goodbye to your life
[Verse 10]
Gb Db
Three minutes had gone by in silence
Bbm Ab
Says the mate then, "Speak lad, say your say"
Gb Db
And the boy's eyes are filling with teardrops
Bbm Ab Gb
And he faltering says, "May I pray?"
[Verse 11]
Gb Db
Then soft came the first words, "Our father"
Bbm Ab
Low and clear from the little lad's lips
Gb Db
But low, they were heard like a trumpet
Bbm Ab Gb
By every man on that ship
[Verse 12]
Gb Db
Each word of that prayer that he went through
Bbm Ab
Through "forever and ever amen"
Gb Db
Not for all the bright gold in the Indies
Bbm Ab Gb
I would not have heard them again
[Verse 13]
Gb Db
Off his feet was the lad sudden lifted
Bbm Ab
And clasped to the mate's rugged chest
Gb Db
And his husky voice muttered, "God bless you"
Bbm Ab Gb
And his lips to his forehead he pressed
[Verse 14]
Gb Db
"You believe me now?" then says the youngster
Bbm Ab
"Believe you?" he kissed him once more
Gb Db
"You'd have laid down your life for the truth, lad
Bbm Ab Gb
I believe you from now evermore"
[Outro]
Gb Db Gb Db Ab
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