Ordinary Man
Peter Hames


[Capo on 3]


    Em          D            C               Em
I'm an ordinary man, nothing special nothing grand
     C               D            Em
I've had to work for everything I own
  Em                D          C                   Em
I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I'd got
  C               D             Em
Enough to keep my family and my home
         C                  D
Now they say that times are hard
            G            Em
and they've handed me my card
     C                                B
They say there's not the work to go around
    Em               D          C                  Em
And when the whistle blows, the gates will finally close
   C                     D                 Em
Tonight they're going to shut this factory down
                     C   D   Em
Then they'll tear it d-o-w-n...


  Em             D               C                 Em
I never missed a day nor went on strike for higher pay
    C              D                  Em
For twenty years I served them best I could
       Em              D                  C           Em
With a handshake and a cheque it seems so easy to forget
C                   D                     Em
Loyalty through the bad times and through good
    C               D
The owner says he's sad
            G                  Em
to see that things have got so bad
        C                                  B
But the captains of industry won't let him lose
   Em             D       C          Em
He still drives a car and smokes his cigar
    C                  D           Em
And still he takes his family on a cruise,
          C  D   Em
He'll never lo-ose


 Em              D         C         Em
Well it seems to me such a cruel irony
     C               D              Em
He's richer now than ever he was before
Em               D           C                Em
Now my cheque is spent and I can't afford the rent
        C               D                 Em
There's one law for the rich, one for the poor
      C        D        G                  Em
Every day I've tried to salvage some of my pride
   C                                  B
To find some work so's I might pay my way
       Em           D       C               Em
Oh but everywhere I go, the answer's always no
 C                  D             Em
There's no work for anyone here today
        C   D  Em
No work today . . .


    Em             D              C        Em
And so condemned I stand, just an ordinary man
     C            D             Em
Like thousands beside me in the queue
  Em               D              C                Em
I watch my darling wife trying to make the best of life
    C                  D                 Em
And God knows what the kids are going to do
C               D               G     Em
Now that we are faced with this human waste
  C                 B
A generation cast aside
       Em        D       C             Em
And as long as I live, I never will forgive
       C                 D           Em
You've stripped me of my dignity and pride
                   C  D    Em
You've stripped me bare...
                   C  D    Em
You've stripped me bare...
           C  D    Em
No work today. . .