Key: D
Introduction:
D G D
I remember the night that he came in
G D
from the wintry cold and damp.
Bm
A giant of a man in an oilskin coat
G A
and a bundle that told he was a tramp
D G D
He stood at the bar and he called a pint,
G D
then turned and gazed at the fire.
Bm
"On a night like this to be safe and dry,
G A
is my one and only desire."
D G D
So here's to those that are dead and gone,
Bm A
the friends that I loved dear.
D G D
And here's to you and I'll bid you adieu,
A D Bm
saying Donegal Danny's been here me boys,
D A D
Donegal Danny's been here.
D G D
Then in a voice that was hushed and low,
G D
he said 'Listen I'll tell you a tale,
Bm
how a man of the sea became a man of the roads,
G A
and never more will set sail.
D G D G D
I've fished out of Howth and Killybegs, Ardglass and Baltimore.
Bm
But the cruel sea has beaten me,
G A
and I'll end my days on the shore."
D G D
One fateful night in the wind and the rain,
G D
we set sail from Killybegs town.
Bm
There were five of us from sweet Donegal,
G A
and one from County Down.
D G D
We were fishermen who worked the sea,
G D
and never counted the cost.
Bm
But I never thought ere that night was done,
G A
that my fine friends would all be lost.
D G D
Then the storm it broke and drove the boat,
G D
to the rocks about ten miles from shore.
Bm
As we fought the tide we hoped inside,
G A
to see our homes once more.
D G D
Then we struck a rock and holed the bow,
G D
and all of us knew that she'd go down.
Bm
So we jumped right into the icy sea,
G A
and prayed to God we wouldn't drown.
D G D
But the raging sea was rising still,
G D
as we struck out for the land.
Bm
And she fought with all her cruelty,
G A
to claim that gallant band.
D G D
By St John's Point in the early dawn,
G D
I dragged myself on the shore.
Bm
And I cursed the sea for what she'd done,
G A
and vowed to sail her never more.
D G D
Ever since that night I've been on the road,
G D
travelling and trying to forget,
Bm G A
that awful night I lost all my friends, I see their faces yet.
D G D
And often at night when the sea is high,
G D
and the rain is tearing at my skin,
Bm
I hear the cries of drowning men,
G A
floating over on the wind'.