Whistling The Esperanza Chords by Ewan Mclennan

[E] _ [B] _ _ _ [F#] _ [B] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ [F#] _ [B] _ [E] _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ [F#] _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ _ _ [F#] _ _ [B] _ _ _
On a still night under [F#] darkness men [B] fastened their boots, their [E] head-touches flickered, their tobacco [B]-smoke rose,
For the cogs and wheels [E] whirring they were low, [B] were hollow, as they whistled [F#] the [B] Esperanza. _
In the hot, [E] dusty air [B] their picks and drills flew, with the [E] passing of hours the [B] specks of gold grew,
Till a deafening [E] roar shook the [B] hill with a blow, [E]
and snuffed [F#] out their [B] _ Esperanza.
As the dust [E] fell and [B] settled the silence gave way, to the minors [E] who lay there [B] untouched and unscathed,
[E] But where the [B] rubble had fallen [E] it [B] blocked their [E] retreat, their hopes were [F#] now [B] with San Lorenzo.
[E] _ _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[F#] _ [B] _ _ _ Up above shrill alarm [F#] bells [B] greeted the dawn, [G#m] from their [E] posts men scattered, their [B] radios drawn,
From the mine the news [E] travelled to their [B] families at home, to the [F#] nation and their [B] good beyond.
_ But before [E] long the rescue [B] was planned and in place, there were drillers [E] from Texas brought [B] to join the race,
[E] But with [B] six hundred metres [E] of solid [B] rock in their [E] way, their [F#] faces were grim [B] but determined. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ From the length of the country and the hills they soon came, [G#m] on the [E] sands [B] families gathered to wait and pray for their men,
They pitched up their [E] tents there in the hot stinging [B] sun, and named their [F#] camp [E] _
Esperanza.
[B] For the nine weeks that [Em] they waited [B] nerves and tempers were frayed, but a school [E] for their children and [B] shrines for the minors were made,
[E] There were feuds, [B] there was marriage [E] and a [B] baby was [E] born, all under [F#] camp [B] _ Esperanza.
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ The men [E] crouched below [B] in the heat and the dark, [G#m] surviving on rations [E] lowered [B] down the mine shaft,
They appointed [G#m] a doctor [E] and a cook [B] from their ranks, [E] and swore [F#] that they'd struggle [B] through together.
_ _ _ _ _ [F#] _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ [F#] _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ _ _ [F#] _ _ [B] _ _ _
After six [Em] days of drilling [B] they finally struck through, to the cavern where the miners [E] joy [B] greeted the view,
The tunnel [G#m] was carved and [E] the line [B] was cast down, [E] to where the dust [F#] and the [B] tears now ran together,
The weak were the first on the journey above, _ entombed and twisting from [E] the pull and [Bm] the shove,
They rose from the earth [E] on a woven [B] line of steel, to the [F#] strains of the [B] bands [E] _ Esperanza. _
_ _ One by one each minor [B] emerged into the sun, to the thirty [E]-three families so stood [B] to welcome their men,
[E] Amidst the [B] sand and the rubble the crowds gathered and [E] cheered, and sang [F#] for their [B] newly knighted heroes.
[E] _ _ _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [F#] _ [B] _
_ _ _ A mother held her son in [Em] a careful [B] embrace, a young girl looked on [Em] the warm sun framing [B] her face,
As he lifted her up she [E] whispered, Daddy [B] promised me your [F#] days on the ground [B] are done.
[E] _
[B] On the San [E] Jose mine the sun [B] shone the wind blew, in the way that [E] it had since [B] _ 1892,
[E]
Still in [B] danger men toiled, traded for gold, [E] still harsh [F#] winds there [B] scattered the topsoil. _ _
_ _ _ [F#] _ [B] _ _ _ [G#m] _
[B] _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ [E] _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ [F#] _ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ On a still night under darkness men fastened their boots, [E] their head [B] torches flickered, their tobacco smoke rose,
Where the cogs and wheels [E] whirred and they were [B] low, as _ they whistled [F#] the [B] _ [E] Esperanza.
[D#m] _ _
[B] As they whistled [F#] the [E] _ Esperanza.
_ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _