Written by J.P. Cormier
Capo II
C G C
There's lumber and rusty old nails by the door,
F
We'll board up these houses and live here no more;
Fm C Am
And even the gulls won't come up from the shore,
G C
'Cause they know all the people are leavin'.
C G C
There's Tucker and Darcy and Skipper Tom Brown,
F
They pulled up the boat and have battened her down;
Fm C Am
She's just one more soul that fate pushed aground,
G C
The ocean's still as a tombstone.
G
We'll move to the city, they'll pay for our homes,
C
If the town was a body, it would be skin and bones;
G
What of the men who lie here in the ground,
C F
Who died breathin' life in this town?
Fm C Am
The dreams of our fathers will die in their sleep,
G F C
When they put out the lights in Great Harbour Deep.
C G C
Things were much better when I was a lad,
F
When two workin' hands were all a man had;
Fm C Am
The sea was our mother, she called us from land,
G C
But now she seems like a stranger.
C G C
It's funny, they say there's no cod anymore,
F
But you'll find them in restaurants and all the fine stores;
Fm C Am
It's like God told them all, stay far from our shores,
G C
The foreigners must need the money.
G
So we'll move to the city, they'll pay for our homes,
C
If the town was a body, it would be skin and bones;
G
What of the men who lie here in the ground,
C F
Who died breathin' life in this town?
Fm C Am
The dreams of our fathers will die in their sleep,
G F C
When they put out the lights in Great Harbour Deep.
D A D
They're down at the powerhouse, they'll soon throw the switch,
G
That will send us the darkness as black as the pitch;
Gm D Bm
And some guy up in Ottawa, that son-of-a-bitch,
A D
In his own bed tonight he'll be keepin'.
D A D
So I'll say my goodbyes to the rocks and the trees,
G
And I'll walk through this splendour whenever I please;
Gm D Bm
Though the only way back here will be in my dreams,
A D
Ya can't stop a fella from sleepin'.
A
So we'll move to the city, they'll pay for our homes,
D
If the town was a body, it would be skin and bones;
A
What of the men who lie here in the ground,
D G
Who died breathin' life in this town?
Gm D Bm
The dreams of our fathers will die in their sleep,
A G D
When they put out the lights in Great Harbour Deep.
D A D
Now there stands the city with wide-open arms,
G
And I'm sure now to some, well, she does hold her charms;
Gm D Bm
There's prostitutes, drug dealers, strip joints and bars,
A D
What a great place for raisin' your children.
A
So, we moved to the city, they paid for our homes,
D
After all that old village was just skin and bones;
A
And we left all those men there, alone in the ground,
D G
Who died breathing life in that town;
Gm D Bm
The dreams of our fathers all died in their sleep,
A G D
When they put out the lights in Great Harbour Deep.
A
So, we moved to the city, they paid for our homes,
D
After all that old village was just skin and bones;
A
And we left all those men there, alone in the ground,
D G
Who died breathing life in that town;
Gm D Bm
The dreams of our fathers all died in their sleep,
A G D
When they put out the lights in Great Harbour Deep.
Gm D Bm
The ocean stands watchin', her vigil she'll keep,
A G D
She's the only one left now in Great Harbour Deep.
