Chords for The Blind Fiddler/Galway Farmer

_ _ [Em] _ In the early days of this duo, we did a lot of work in pubs, sort of free admission Saturday
night gigs.
And there's only a couple of songs [D] I think that are still in our repertoire since
[C] then.
_ [Bm] [C] And we'll medlefy them as George Bush would say.
_ _ _ _ _ [G]
[C] And this one some of you may [G] know,
_ [C] _ it's the Blind Fiddler.
_ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [D] _ [A] _ _
_ [D] _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ [G] In the year of [Em] 46, _ _ I was working [C] on a _ revolver, _ [G] and it [B] was out of fix.
I [Em] _ am so [C] sad and [G] lonely,
that I'm condemned [B] to roam.
[Em] Cause I am a [A] blind fiddler, and [D] I'm a great long [Em] way from home.
_ [A] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ [Em] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I've [A] been down to Knoxville, to talk [E] to Dog [Em] Lang.
_ [E] He asked me to come along, and I said
yes.
He operated [C] on none of my eyes, [A] but nothing [Bm] could he gain.
_ [Em] I am so sad [C] and [G] lonely, that
I'm [B] condemned to roam. _
[Em] Cause I [G] am [A] a blind fiddler, and I'm a [G] great long [Em] way from home.
[G] _ [A] _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ I got a wife and [A] three little kids, [G] and they [Em] depend on me.
_ They're sharing [C] all my _ sorrows,
_ [A] _ wherever they [B] may _ _ _ _ be.
_ [E] And I [Bm] hope that [C] they'll be [A] careful, that through this life [B] they roam.
_ [G] Cause I am [A] a blind fiddler, and I [Em] cannot help them.
_ _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ [D] _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [A] _
_ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ [A] _ [B] _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ [C] _ _ [D] _ _
_ [Bm] _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ _ _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ [D] _ _ [C] _
_ [D] _ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _
[E] _ _ [Em] _ [F#] _ _ [Em] _ _ _
_ In those days we had to know a lot of standards really to [G] survive [Em] _ in some of the places like
the Park Hotel in Gosport on a Saturday [D] night.
[E] So we used to do the black velvet [D] band, and
[C] _
_ _ [Bm] whiskey [C] in the jar, stuff like [Em] that.
[C] And I thought, I thought I'd [Em] try and write a [Bm] song
that had all that [Em] [C] sort of Irish attitude.
But I used things [D] I know about, like Cheltenham,
_ [C] and the Gold Cup. _
[Em] _ _ [C] _ So there's a story about a man who [G] comes over from the west of Ireland,
dreaming that just once in his life, [D] he'll go back a winner.
_ [Em] _ I work my [E] days on a Galloway farm, in sun and rain, wind and storm.
Once a year I'll
chance my [G] arm, cross the sea to England.
I scrimp and save two thousand pounds, spend
the week in Cheltenham town, the racing over, always down.
I come back poor from England.
I dream one night before I left, a coal black mare with a white star chest.
Cross the line
and beat the rest, I came back rich to Galway.
Rose a dawn, drove all day, thinking, wondering
all the way.
Lady luck, have you come to stay, or steal away my [E] morning?
When I got
to Cheltenham town, [D] Irish faces all around, [Em] no bed, no mattress to be found.
[D] I slept on
the hillside, [E] spent three days at the viewing [D] ring, saw the horses they led in.
[E] Just when
I was giving [D] in, I stood and [A] stared in [D] wonder.
_ [Em] With stamping hooves and steaming [C] breath,
a coal black mare with a white star [D] chest.
I ran my finger down the list, [Bm] matched the
[C] name and number.
[Em] Lady luck had come [C] halfway, the horse's name was Galway Bay.
[D] Twenty to
one, the odds that day, [Bm] I went to make [A] my [Em] wager. _ _ _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ _ [C] _ [G] _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ [Bm] _ [Em] I counted out two thousand [D] pounds,
held it high, slapped it down, [Em] the bookie smiled and made no [G] sound.
I knew what [A] he was
thinking, I [Em] was the biggest loser in the [D] land, with a pounding heart, shaking hand,
[Em] I made my way up to the stand, [D] and the horses came to [A] order. _ _ _ _
_ _ [Em] Ah, but at the first, she nearly
fell, _ [C] and I cursed my farmer's luck to hell.
The second [D] and third she [Em] took quite well,
[B] the way behind [C] the leader.
_ _ _ [E] Then moving sweetly from the back, [C] she found the rails and caught
the pack, [D] ten to go and from the track, [B] the [A] hooves were drumming [Em] thunder. _ _ _
_ [D] _ _ _ Drumming [C] thunder! _
_ [G] _ _ [D] _ _ [Bm] _ [Em] Come on Galway Bay, _ [D] _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ [G] _ _ _ [D] _ _
you can [Em] win this time, _ _ [C] for me.
_ [Em] _ [D] Ah, dear kind, _ just for [C] once [G] in [Em] the
distance, _ I can hear [C] the sound of horses _ [D] _ getting closer.
[Bm] _ _ [A] Hey!
[Em] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] Philbear on the violin. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _ [Em] Hurrah!
_ [C] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _
[Em] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ [Bm] _ _ [C] _
[Em] She's catching horses one by [C] one, her eyes are flashing in the sun, [D] hate to go a mile,
to [Bm] run [C] to her up before [Em] her.
On the straight down they [C] sped, and left one at the [Em] last for
[D] dead.
Caught the next and by her [B] head, she came home the winner.
_ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Em] So I came back to my
Galway farm, a wiser and a richer [D] man, [Em] never again to chance my [D] arm, or cross the [Em] sea to
[A] England. _ _ _
[Em] Lady Luck was mine that day, [G] I [C] held her close, I went [G] my way, [D] raised a glass to
[Em] Galway Bay, [B] and the dream of a [G] Galway farmer.
[Em] _ _ _
I [C] won, _ _ _ [D] I won, _ _ _ _ [E] yay!
[D] _
_ [G] _ [C] _ _ [D] _ [Em] Oh, I won, I won, I won,
I won!
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _