The Pogues - The Body of an American: chords

     C              F      C
The cadillac stood by the house and
                F       C
the Yanks they were within
         C                F
And the tinker boys they hissed advice
      C               G
'Hot wire her with a pin'
    C                      F
We turned and shook as we had
                C                      G
a look in the room where the dead man lay
    C                  F         C
So big Jim Dwyer made his last trip to
                      F       C
the shores where his fathers laid

C                             F
Fifteen minutes later we had our first
           C
taste of whiskey
C                                   F
There was uncles giving lectures on ancient
       G
Irish history
     F
The men all started telling jokes and
     C               G
the women they got frisky
    C                                  F
At five o' clock in the evening every bastard
           G
there was pisskey

Chorus:
           C           G           F
Fare thee well going away there's nothing left
    C
to say
     F                             C           G
Farewell to New York City boys to Boston and P A
    F
He took them out will a well-aimed clout
       C                G
he was often heard to say
        C        F         G   C
I'm a free born man of the U.S.A.

He fought the champ in Pittsburgh
And he slashed him to the ground
He took on Tiny Tartanella
And it only went one round
He never had no time for reds
For drink or dice or whores
But he never threw a fight when a fight was right
So they sent him to the war

Chorus:
Fare thee well, gone away
There's nothing left to say
With a sláinte Joe and Erin go
My love's in Amerikay
The calling of the rosary
Spanish wine from far away
"I'm a freeborn man of the USA"

This morning on the harbour
When I said goodbye to you
I remembered how I swore
That I'd come back to you one day
And as the sunset came
To meet the evening on the hill
I told you I'd always love you
I always did, I always will

Chorus:
Fare thee well, gone away
There's nothing left to say
But say adieu to your eyes as blue
As the water in the bay
To big Jim Dwyer, the man of wire
Who was often heard to say
"I'm a freeborn man of the USA"

I'm a freeborn man of the USA
I'm a freeborn man of the USA