The Accrington Pals chords by Mike Harding

Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E)

Key: Bb

Difficulty: Intermediate

Intro:
Bb Eb Bb Eb


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

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


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


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


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