The Accrington Pals chords by Mike Harding

Chords with lyrics

Tuning: Standard (E MajorE A augmentedA D MajorD G+G BB E MajorE)

Key: Bb majorBb

Difficulty: Intermediate

Intro:
Bb majorBb Eb MajorEb Bb majorBb Eb MajorEb


Verse 1:
Bb majorBb         Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb
  Smoky town where they were born,
Bb majorBb         Eb MajorEb      FF
Down in the valley, smoky little streets;
Bb majorBb          Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb
 They were pals from childhood days
Eb MajorEb         C minorCm         FF
Climbing trees and running through the fields
     Bb majorBb      Eb MajorEb
And they all played together
      FF       Bb majorBb
Through the turning of the years,
Bb majorBb           C minorCm        FF
Sharing their laughter, sharing all their fears.
  Eb MajorEb
The seasons saw them growing, oh
      Bb majorBb         FF
The seasons passing turned them round
      Bb majorBb    Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb   Eb MajorEb    FF
Through the turning, turning, turning years,
        Bb majorBb   Eb MajorEb Bb majorBb
The Accrington Pals.


Verse 2:
Bb majorBb           Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb
  Schooldays end, the lads all went
  Bb majorBb     Eb MajorEb       FF
To work, some spinning, some weaving in the sheds,
Bb majorBb        Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb
 On the land or down the pit,
Bb majorBb       Eb MajorEb        FF
Working hard to earn their daily bread.
     Bb majorBb    Eb MajorEb       FF   Bb majorBb
And they all went walking up old Pendle Hill
Bb majorBb             C minorCm       FF
On Sundays, the larks sang high above the dale,
 Eb MajorEb
Little Willie Riley
      Bb majorBb      FF
Played his mandolin and sang.
     Bb majorBb    Eb MajorEb      Bb majorBb   Eb MajorEb   FF
They were laughing,  they were singing then,
        Bb majorBb   Eb MajorEb Bb majorBb
The Accrington Pals.

Verse 3:
Bb majorBb   Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb
 1916 came the call:
  Bb majorBb        Eb MajorEb       FF
We need more lads to battle with the Hun,
Bb majorBb           Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb
  Lads of Lancashire, heed the call;
   Eb MajorEb                   FF
With God on our side the battle will soon be won
    Bb majorBb    Eb MajorEb       FF       Bb majorBb
So they all came marching to the beating of the drums
Bb majorBb      Eb MajorEb     FF        Bb majorBb
Down from the fields and factories they’d come,
Bb majorBb       Eb MajorEb
Smiling at the girls who
    Bb majorBb        FF
Came to see them on their way.
     Bb majorBb    Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb    Eb MajorEb   FF
They were marching, marching, marching away,
        Bb majorBb  Eb MajorEb  Bb majorBb
The Accrington Pals


Verse 4:
Bb majorBb              Eb MajorEb   Bb majorBb
  Blue skies shining on that perfect day,
 Bb majorBb        Eb MajorEb       FF
A augmentedA lark was singing high above the Somme;
Bb majorBb          Eb MajorEb   Bb majorBb
  Brothers, pals and fathers lay
Eb MajorEb                        FF
Watching that sweet bird sing in the quiet of the dawn
     Bb majorBb    Eb MajorEb
Then they all went walking out
  FF        Bb majorBb
Towards the howling guns,
Bb majorBb     Eb MajorEb    C minorCm       FF
Talking and laughing, calmly walking on,
  Eb MajorEb
Believing in the lies that
     Bb majorBb      FF
Left them dying in the mud;
      Bb majorBb   Eb MajorEb   Bb majorBb  Eb MajorEb   FF
And they’re lying, lying, lying still,
        Bb majorBb  Eb MajorEb Bb majorBb
The Accrington Pals


Verse 5:
Bb majorBb         Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb
  Smoky town that heard the news
Bb majorBb         Eb MajorEb      FF
Down in the valley, smoky little streets;
Bb majorBb         Eb MajorEb    Bb majorBb
  Houses quiet and curtains pulled
  Eb MajorEb        Bb majorBb        FF
All round the town, a silent shroud of grief.
    Bb majorBb     Eb MajorEb       FF        Bb majorBb
And the larks were singing still above Old Pendle Hill,
  Eb MajorEb       Bb majorBb
The wind was in the bracken,
  FF        Bb majorBb
The sun was shining still,
    Eb MajorEb
And the larks were singing sweetly as
      Bb majorBb      FF
The evening fell upon the Somme
     Bb majorBb
On Edward Parkinson
   Eb MajorEb
Bobby Henderson
    Bb majorBb
Billie Clegg
      Eb MajorEb
Johnny Molloy
     Bb majorBb
Norman Jones
    Eb MajorEb
Albert Berry
    Bb majorBb  Eb MajorEb FF
Willie Riley,
        Bb majorBb
The Accrington Pals