Gordon Bok – The Wreck Of The Green Cove (Guitar)

               D      A
I was broke in old Vancouver

               E
Met a mate, an all-time loser

A                D
He said he could help me out

          A              E      A    E A
So to the tugboat office we set out

D                A
Right away, they said, "Me boy,

      E                A
We'll sign you up this very day"

   D                    A
So to the harbour, unsuspectin'

E                      A    E A
Ridin' high, I made my way

                     D         A
When first I saw the old Green Cove

                       E
Her keel was bent, her pipes were stoved

    A                  D
The decks were leaking on the bunks

        A                 E      A       E A
And the paint was peelin' off in chunks

    D                          A
The engine-room was thick with grease

    E                          A
The stack with rust, was eaten through

D                       A
Deck-head, it was all a shambles

E                       A    E A
Towline broken right in two

                      D        A
I went aboard and the mate was drunk

                       E
The skipper passed out in his bunk

    A                     D
The chief was in an awful pain

       A                 E    A     E A
With a bout of the rheumatis again

D                      A
In despair, I wandered aft

    E                   A
The bilge in the galley was knee-deep

D                   A
Dirty dishes in the sink

                        E           A      E A
And the rats around the shelves did creep

                       D       A
I'll never know how we made it out

                         E
From the dockside in and round about

     A                            D
Past Brockton Point in a terrible fog

    A                 E      A    E A
The Green Cove ridin' like a log

        D                   A
But the fog in the mate's befuddled mind

    E                      A
Was thicker than it was outside

   D                          A
As at the wheel he weaved and swayed

E                         A     E A
We set out on our fateful ride

                          D      A
That night as I heard the mate a-snorin'

                E
Keeping time to teredos borin'

  A                         D
I tried my darnedest not to think

       A                     E           A     E A
Of the long ride down if the boat should sink

D                             A
Late that night, a storm come up

    E                     A
The pump gave out and the seas come in

    D                        A
And I had to pump her out by hand

      E                                 A    E A  E A
And I swore, by god, that the sea would win

                       D    A
By luck we reached our destination

            E
A windswept bay, sheer desolation

A             D
Blowin' hard, blowin' cold

A                    E         A     E A
Coldest night of the year, I'm told

   D                      A
We tied the tug up to the tow

                  E                  A
There wasn't much else that we could do

    D                            A
The skipper says, "Boys, let 'er blow

      E                       A    E A
We'll patch her up as good as new"

                                D         A
Well, three days passed and the wind died down

                  E
We set off towin' logs to town

      A                        D
But a mightier wind was yet to blow

               A         E     A      E A
But how in the Hell were we to know?

    D                          A
But old Dame Fortune served us well

   E                      A
As past the Refuge we did wind

  D                      A
Potato Point and Harwood Island

E                      A     E A
Towin' logs and makin' time

                           D         A
But this good luck that we could not match

                             E
Gave out when we reached the Cabbage Patch

     A                D
Down Malaspina we did trail

  A         E       A     E A
A westerly upon our tail

   D                             A
We rounded Scotch Fir, turned up Jervis

E                A
Buckin' tide all on the way

D                      A
Made poor time over Agamemnon

E                     A    E A
Had to tie up in Boom Bay

                             D      A
Well, the wind died down and we set off

                      E
But the engine soon began to cough

        A                  D
And the matched-up seams began to leak

        A                E         A      E A
And the old boat she did groan and creak

    D                        A
Oh, we was desperate, low on vittles

E               A
Had some coffee and some tea

      D                        A
And a dozen cans of Campbell's finest

E                        A    E A
Chicken Noodle and Green Pea

                  D         A
Off Merry Island, late that night

                      E
A storm come down, it was a fright

      A               D
Trail Islands we knew we must reach

       A                 E      A      E A
Or the tow would soon be on the beach

        D                      A
But the skipper he was reading Climax

E                  A
Missed the channel in the dark

       D                        A
With a sickenin' grindin' and a crash

     E                             A     E A
He'd piled her up on the Southeast Rock

                    D        A
He piled her up, he bent her wheel

                          E
He cracked her sternpost, broke her keel

    A                D
And off that rock we felt her slide

       A                     E         A     E A
With a sickenin' list to the starboard side

          D                               A
Well, the winds did howl and the seas did roar

        E                   A
And the Green Cove she went three times round

D                      A
Whistled us a last farewell

    E                       A     E A   E A
And slithered forty fathoms down

                                         D    A
Now the skipper and the mate grabbed the only lifeboat

                         E
Rowed like Hell from the sinking tugboat

A                   D
Rowin' hard for the nearest land

    A                      E        A    E A
The last they were seen by woman or man

        D                               A
And the chief, that skunk from Campbell River

E                       A
Grabbed the life-rings, one, two, three

D                            A
Left me there with a hemlock sliver

E                           A    E A
Tossin' round on the stormy sea

                       D        A
I was washed up at the break of day

                    E
Along the shores of Sargent Bay

    A                     D
The only survivor of that gale

       A                 E        A     E A
That's left to tell this mournful tale

    D                          A
And now that you have heard my story

                    E    A
You'll know why, forever more

D                     A
I'll never go to sea again

    E                       A      E A
I'm quite contented here on shore