old admirals Chords

Lyrics & chords

[Verse 1]
[D]I can wel[G]l recall the first
[D]time I [C]ever [Am]put to sea
It [G]was on [D]the old
[C]'Calcutta' in [A]1853
I was [G]just a lad [D]of fourteen years,
a [C]midshipman to [A]be
To [D]make my way in sail[Am]ing ships of the
[G]Royal Navy
[D][Bm][A]

[Verse 2]
[G][D]
[G]By the time that I was twenty- [D]one I'd
[C]sailed the world [Am]around
[G]Weathered storms in the [D]China seas
with the [C]hatches battened [A]down
And [G]made my way by star[D]light
off [C]the coast of Newfoundland
[A]And din[D]ed on beer and her[Am]rings while the
[G]waves blew all around
[D][F#m][Bm][A][G][D]

[Verse 3]
[Bm]I live in retirement now
And through my [Em]window [E]comes
the sound [Em]of seagulls
And [G]sets [Em]my mind remem[Bm]bering
The evening stars like memories sail
[E]far beyond the distant trees
Way [Em]out across the open seas
I hear [A]them sing

[Verse 4]
Oh the [G]wooden ships they [D]turned
to iron and the [Am]iron ships to steel
And [G]shed their sails like [D]au tumn leaves
with the [C]turning [Am]of the [A]wheel
And [G]I was given cap[D]tain's rank
[C]and soon took un[Am]der [A]me
[D]The proudest ship that [Am]ever
sailed for [G]queen and country
[D][Bm][A]

[Interlude 1]
[G][D][A][Bm][A][G]
[F#m][D][A][Bm][D][Bm][G][A]
[D][A][Bm][A][G]
[D]

[Verse 5]
Ah, the [G]old queen she [D]passed away with the [C]new born [Am]cen tury
And [G]I received my call
[D]ing up [C]to the admiralty
[A]The san[G]ds ran through the[D] hourglass
each [C]day more rap[A]idly
As [D]we watched the growing [Am]of the fleets
of [G]high Germany
[D][Bm][A][G][D]

[Verse 6]
[Bm]So at last the Great War blazed
[E]I waited with the [Em]passing [Bm]days
[Em]The call to arms that never came
[Bm]Writing [Em]letters[Bm]

[Verse 7]
I may be old now in your eyes
[E]But all my years have made me wise
You [Em]don't see where the danger lies
[A]Oh call me back, call me back

[Verse 8]
[G]But the war it ran[D] its course,
they could [C]find no use [Am]for me
[G]And I live in the count[D]ry now,
grand[C]children on [A]my knee
And [G]sometimes think in all [D]this
world the [C]saddest thing [A]to be
[D]Old admirals who [Am]feel the wind, an[G]d never put to sea

[Interlude 2]
[D][Bm][A][G][D][A][Bm][A][G]
[F#m][D][A][Bm]
[D][A][Bm][Em][A][D][Bm][A][G]
[D][A][Bm][A][G][D][A]
[Bm][D][A][Bm][G][Em][A][D][Bm][A][G]
[D]

[Verse 9]
Now [G]just like you I've [D]sailed my dreams
like [C]ships [Am]across the sea
And [G]some of them they've [D]come on rocks,
and some [C]faced mutiny
[A]And whe[G]n they're sunken one by[D]
one I'll [C]join that com[A]pany
[D]Old admirals who [Am]feel the wind,
an[G]d never put t[D]o sea
[Bm][A][G][F#m][Em][A]