Gladstone pier Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Intro 1]
[Em][D][Em][C]

[Verse 1]
[G]Peter was a sailor
[D]Swarthy lean [Em]and proud
He could [C]take a schooner
through a [G]big sea swell
[Am]Aloof in the mainland [D]crowd
She [G]loved his quiet laughter

[Verse 2]
Like a [D]boy he'd shrug [Em]and grin
[C]Beach stretched wide at [G]Port Mackay
With [Am]dreams upon the [D]wind

[Verse 3]
He [C]wore her name in a [D]rose tattoo
[G]Long weekend[C]s of gins a[Em]nd li[Am]me
[G]She liv[C]ed in Cairns made
[D]plans [G]to move
[Em]Checkout girl part- [Am]time
[G]And rum[C]our said there's
a [G]boom ahead
You can [Am]make your future [D]here
By the Gladstone [Em]pier

[Verse 4]
[C]
A [G]two roomed five row shelter
Empty [D]hopes, the damp, the [Em]flies
[C]Prices hyped her [G]face grew tight
And [Am]conversation [D]died

[Verse 5]
And the [C]foreman at the smelter
said you're [D]much too old
[G]Try the can[Em]e fields further nor[Am]th
[G]And the cle[C]rk at the market said we
[D]don't buy [G]trouble
[Em]There's a strike down at the [Am]port
[G]Then a

[Verse 6]
[C]six- day shift in a [G]filthy pit
The [Am]drag lines gouging [G]coal
The [C]black dust gnaws
at your [G]lungs and pores
And [Am]anger rots your [G]soul
And the [C]queue round the block
waits for [G]you to drop
Can you [Am]take it for another [D]year
By the Gladstone [Em]Pier

[Interlude 1]
[Em][D][Em]
[D][Em][D]
[Em]
[A][Em]
[A]

[Verse 7]
[G]Every Sunday he'd [A]walk alone
Casting pebbles at the passing [D]waves
[G]Plunge in brine [A]cleanse his pride
A stronger man [D]remains

[Verse 8]
The [C]crunch of shale and [D]distant sails
Ached within his [G]bones
Seeing ships upon the [Am]tide
Bound for ports unknown
[D]

[Interlude 2]
[Em][C]
[G][Am][A][Em][D][Em][C]
[G][A]
[Em][D]

[Verse 9]
[G]Soon he drank for comfort
She grew [D]bitter in the weeks [Em]between
The [C]nights of beer and [G]hollow cheer
When [Am]love became [D]routine
They [G]fought, she left him crying

[Verse 10]
Angry [D]words in a last [Em]cafe
In [C]desperation on a [G]lonely night
She took the [Am]bus to Cairns next [D]day

[Verse 11]
And [C]Gladstone couples break [D]that way
[G]Mutual bla[Em]me and no regrets
[Am]And [G]boom[C]town blues
just [D]fade to grey
[G]And all[Em] that's left are debts
[Am]He[G]

[Verse 12]
[C]cried:
"I've got to leave this [G]dirty old town
And the [Am]rattle of broken [G]men
[C]Break these chains and [G]wash the pain
And [Am]put to sea a[G]gain
[C]Drained all my passion my
[G]anger and my fears
And [Am]sank them in a [D]flagon
Under Gladstone [Em]pier"
[C][Am][D]

[Verse 13]
She [G]saw him through the
Greyhound window
As the [D]dawn glowed on [Em]the chrome
Stand[C]ing by the pier under [G]sullen skies
Sea [Am]winds calling [D]home

[Verse 14]
From [G]Surfers up to Townsville
Past the [D]high- rise [Em]colonies
[C]Fast food, cheap ho[G]tels
[Am]And two more [D]boomtown refugees
[Em]

[Outro 1]
[D][Em]
[A][Em][D][Em]
[A][Em]
[D][A][Em]