Christy Moore, Ordinary Man (1985)
^{Key: :[Am] (w: Peter Hames)}

INTRO:
[F] [G] [Am] // [F] [G] [Am] // [F] [G] [F] [G]

VERSE 1:
I'm an [Am] ordinary [G] man, nothing [F] special nothing [Am] grand
I've [F] had to work for [G] everything I [Am] own
Well I [Am] never asked for a [G] lot, I was [F] happy with what I'd [Am] got
E-[F]-nough to keep my [G] family and my [Am] home

VERSE 2:
Now they [F] say that times are [G] hard, and they've [C] handed me my [Am] cards
They [F] say there's not the work to go a-[E]-round
And [Am] when the whistle [G] blows, the [F] gates will finally [Am] close
To-[F]-night they're going to [G] shut this factory [Am] down

CHORUS:
Then they'll tear it [F] down [G] [Am] // [F] [G] [Am]

VERSE 3:
I [Am] never missed a [G] day, nor went on [F] strike for higher [Am] pay
For [F] twenty years I [G] served them best I [Am] could
Now with a [Am] handshake and a [G] cheque, it seems so [F] easy to for-[Am]-get
[F] Loyalty through the [G] bad times and through [Am] good

VERSE 4:
Now the [F] owner says he's [G] sad, to see that [C] things have got so [Am] bad
But the [F] captains of industry won't let him [E] lose
He [Am] still drives a [G] car, and [F] smokes his [Am] cigar
And [F] still he takes his [G] family on a [Am] cruise

CHORUS:
He'll never [F] lose [G] [Am] // [F] [G] [Am]

VERSE 5:
Well it [Am] seems to [G] me, such a [F] cruel iron-[Am]-y
He's [F] richer now than [G] ever he was be-[Am]-fore
[Am] Now my cheque is [G] spent, and I [F] can't afford the [Am] rent
There's [F] one law for the [G] rich, one for the [Am] poor

VERSE 6:
[F] Everyday I've [G] tried to [C] salvage some of my [Am] pride
To [F] find some work so's I might pay my [E] way
Oh [Am] but everywhere I [G] go, the [F] answer's always [Am] no
There's [F] no work for [G] anyone here to-[Am]-day

CHORUS:
No work to-[F]-day [G] [Am] // [F] [G] [F] [G]

VERSE 7:
And [Am] so condemned I [G] stand, just an [F] ordinary [Am] man
Like [F] thousands be-[G]-side me in the [Am] queue
I [Am] watch my darling [G] wife, trying to [F] make the best of [Am] life
And [F] God knows what the [G] kids are going to [Am] do

VERSE 8:
Now [F] that we are [G] faced, with [C] this human [Am] waste
A [F] generation cast a-[E7]-side
And as [Am] long as I [G] live, I [F] never will for [Am] give
You've [F] stripped me of my [G] dignity and [Am] pride