BIG RIVER
words and music by Jimmy Nail
Intro Bb, Bbm, F (repeat)
F Fsus4 F Bb
walking on cobble stone, little bits of skin and bone
Dm Am Gm C, Csus4
jumping on the tram car for a ride
F Fsus4 F Bb
I can remember then, I was just a boy of ten
Dm Am Gm C, Csus4
hanging out along the old quayside
Bb F Dm
now all the capstans and the cargo boats
Bb
and stevadores are gone
F
to where all the old ships go
Gsus4, G Csus4 C F
but memories just like the seas live on
Fsus4
that was when coal was king,
F Bb
the river a living thing
Dm Am Gm
and I was just a boy, but it was mine,
Csus4 C F Bb C
the coaly tyne
F Bb
this was a big river,
Dm Am Gm C, Csus4
I want you all to know that I was proud
F Bb Dm Am
this was a big river, but that was long ago,
Gm Csus4 C F
that's not now, that's not now
F Fsus4
my father was a working man,
F Bb
he earned our living with his hands
Dm Am Gm C, Csus4
he had to cross the river every day
F Fsus4 F Bb
he picked up a union card out of the Neptune yard
Dm Am Gm C, Csus4
mouths to feed and bills to pay
Bb F Dm Bb
then came a time for him to sail across the sea and far away
Bb F
finally when the war was won
Gsus4 G Csus4 C F
you brought him home and home he stayed
[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/j/jimmy_nail/big_river_crd.html ]
F Fsus4 F Bb
and when his days were done, under a golden sun
Dm Am Gm
you carried him to where he longed to be,
Csus4 C F Bb, C
Back to the sea
F Bb
this was a big river,
Dm Am Gm C, Csus4
I want you all to know that I was proud
F Bb Dm Am
this was a big river, but that was long ago,
Gm Csus4 C F
that's not now, that's not now
Repeat Intro
F Fsus4
the Neptune was the last to go,
F Bb
I heard it on my radio
Dm Am Gm Csus4, C
and then they played the latest number one
F Fsus4
but what do they do all day?
F Bb
and what are they supposed to say?
Dm Am Gm Csus4, C
what does a father tell his son?
Bb F Dm Bb
if you you believed that there's a bond between our future and our past
F
try to hold on to what we had,
Gsus4 G Csus4 C F
we build them strong, we build to last
F Fsus4 F Bb
'cause this is a mighty town, it's built upon solid ground
Dm Am Gm
and everything they tried so hard to kill,
Csus4 C F Bb C
we will rebuild
F Bb
this was a big river
Dm Am Gm Csus4 C
I want you all to know that I was proud
F Bb Dm Am
this was a big river, but that was long ago,
Gm Csus4 C
that's not now
F Bb
this is a big river,
Dm Am Bb
and in my heart I know it will rise again
C F Fsus4 F
the river will rise again
Dedicated to Jimmy Bradford (1914 - 1990)
Tab by Alan Jenkins (alanrjenkins@yahoo.co.uk for more)
