The Wreck Of The Green Cove chords by Gordon Bok

Chords with lyrics

Intro:
A augmentedA E MajorE A augmentedA E MajorE A augmentedA


Verse 1:
        D MajorD   A augmentedA
I was broke in old Vancouver
        E MajorE
Met a mate, an all-time loser
A augmentedA        D MajorD
He said he could help me out
     A augmentedA       E MajorE   A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
So to the tugboat office we set out
D MajorD        A augmentedA
Right away, they said, "Me boy,
   E MajorE        A augmentedA
We'll sign you up this very day"
  D MajorD          A augmentedA
So to the harbour, unsuspectin'
E MajorE           A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
Ridin' high, I made my way

Verse 2:
           D MajorD     A augmentedA
When first I saw the old Green Cove
            E MajorE
Her keel was bent, her pipes were stoved
  A augmentedA         D MajorD
The decks were leaking on the bunks
    A augmentedA         E MajorE   A augmentedA    E MajorE A augmentedA
And the paint was peelin' off in chunks
  D MajorD             A augmentedA
The engine-room was thick with grease
  E MajorE             A augmentedA
The stack with rust, was eaten through
D MajorD            A augmentedA
Deck-head, it was all a shambles
E MajorE            A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
Towline broken right in two


Verse 3:
           D MajorD    A augmentedA
I went aboard and the mate was drunk
            E MajorE
The skipper passed out in his bunk
  A augmentedA           D MajorD
The chief was in an awful pain
    A augmentedA         E MajorE  A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
With a bout of the rheumatis again
D MajorD           A augmentedA
In despair, I wandered aft
  E MajorE          A augmentedA
The bilge in the galley was knee-deep
D MajorD          A augmentedA
Dirty dishes in the sink
            E MajorE      A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
And the rats around the shelves did creep

Instrumental:
D MajorD  A augmentedA E MajorE  A augmentedA E MajorE A augmentedA


Verse 4:
            D MajorD    A augmentedA
I'll never know how we made it out
             E MajorE
From the dockside in and round about
   A augmentedA              D MajorD
Past Brockton Point in a terrible fog
  A augmentedA         E MajorE   A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
The Green Cove ridin' like a log
    D MajorD          A augmentedA
But the fog in the mate's befuddled mind
  E MajorE           A augmentedA
Was thicker than it was outside
  D MajorD             A augmentedA
As at the wheel he weaved and swayed
E MajorE             A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
We set out on our fateful ride


Verse 5:
             D MajorD   A augmentedA
That night as I heard the mate a-snorin'
        E MajorE
Keeping time to teredos borin'
 A augmentedA             D MajorD
I tried my darnedest not to think
    A augmentedA           E MajorE      A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
Of the long ride down if the boat should sink
D MajorD               A augmentedA
Late that night, a storm come up
  E MajorE           A augmentedA
The pump gave out and the seas come in
  D MajorD            A augmentedA
And I had to pump her out by hand
   E MajorE                 A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA E MajorE A augmentedA
And I swore, by god, that the sea would win


Verse 6:
            D MajorD  A augmentedA
By luck we reached our destination
      E MajorE
A augmentedA windswept bay, sheer desolation
A augmentedA       D MajorD
Blowin' hard, blowin' cold
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Coldest night of the year, I'm told
  D MajorD           A augmentedA
We tied the tug up to the tow
         E MajorE         A augmentedA
There wasn't much else that we could do
  D MajorD              A augmentedA
The skipper says, "Boys, let 'er blow
   E MajorE            A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
We'll patch her up as good as new"


Verse 7:
                D MajorD     A augmentedA
Well, three days passed and the wind died down
         E MajorE
We set off towin' logs to town
   A augmentedA            D MajorD
But a mightier wind was yet to blow
        A augmentedA     E MajorE   A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
But how in the Hell were we to know?
  D MajorD             A augmentedA
But old Dame Fortune served us well
  E MajorE           A augmentedA
As past the Refuge we did wind
 D MajorD           A augmentedA
Potato Point and Harwood Island
E MajorE           A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
Towin' logs and makin' time


Verse 8:
              D MajorD     A augmentedA
But this good luck that we could not match
               E MajorE
Gave out when we reached the Cabbage Patch
   A augmentedA        D MajorD
Down Malaspina we did trail
 A augmentedA     E MajorE    A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
A majorA westerly upon our tail
  D MajorD               A augmentedA
We rounded Scotch Fir, turned up Jervis
E MajorE        A augmentedA
Buckin' tide all on the way
D MajorD           A augmentedA
Made poor time over Agamemnon
E MajorE           A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
Had to tie up in Boom Bay


Verse 9:
               D MajorD   A augmentedA
Well, the wind died down and we set off
           E MajorE
But the engine soon began to cough
    A augmentedA         D MajorD
And the matched-up seams began to leak
    A augmentedA        E MajorE     A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
And the old boat she did groan and creak
  D MajorD            A augmentedA
Oh, we was desperate, low on vittles
E MajorE        A augmentedA
Had some coffee and some tea
   D MajorD            A augmentedA
And a dozen cans of Campbell's finest
E MajorE            A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
Chicken Noodle and Green Pea


Verse 10:
         D MajorD     A augmentedA
Off Merry Island, late that night
           E MajorE
A augmentedA storm come down, it was a fright
   A augmentedA        D MajorD
Trail Islands we knew we must reach
    A augmentedA         E MajorE   A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
Or the tow would soon be on the beach
    D MajorD           A augmentedA
But the skipper he was reading Climax
E MajorE         A augmentedA
Missed the channel in the dark
    D MajorD            A augmentedA
With a sickenin' grindin' and a crash
   E MajorE               A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
He'd piled her up on the Southeast Rock


Verse 11:
          D MajorD    A augmentedA
He piled her up, he bent her wheel
             E MajorE
He cracked her sternpost, broke her keel
  A augmentedA        D MajorD
And off that rock we felt her slide
    A augmentedA           E MajorE     A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
With a sickenin' list to the starboard side
     D MajorD                A augmentedA
Well, the winds did howl and the seas did roar
    E MajorE          A augmentedA
And the Green Cove she went three times round
D MajorD           A augmentedA
Whistled us a last farewell
  E MajorE            A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
And slithered forty fathoms down


Verse 12:
                     D MajorD  A augmentedA
Now the skipper and the mate grabbed the only lifeboat
             E MajorE
Rowed like Hell from the sinking tugboat
A augmentedA          D MajorD
Rowin' hard for the nearest land
  A augmentedA           E MajorE    A augmentedA  E MajorE A augmentedA
The last they were seen by woman or man
    D MajorD                A augmentedA
And the chief, that skunk from Campbell River
E MajorE            A augmentedA
Grabbed the life-rings, one, two, three
D MajorD              A augmentedA
Left me there with a hemlock sliver
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Tossin' round on the stormy sea


Verse 13:
            D MajorD    A augmentedA
I was washed up at the break of day
          E MajorE
Along the shores of Sargent Bay
  A augmentedA           D MajorD
The only survivor of that gale
    A augmentedA         E MajorE    A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
That's left to tell this mournful tale
  D MajorD             A augmentedA
And now that you have heard my story
          E MajorE  A augmentedA
You'll know why, forever more
D MajorD           A augmentedA
I'll never go to sea again
  E MajorE            A augmentedA   E MajorE A augmentedA
I'm quite contented here on shore