POGUES - Thousands Are Sailing lyrics

rate me

The island it is silent now<br>But the ghosts still haunt the waves<br>And the torch lights up a famished man<br>Who fortune could not save<br><br>Did you work upon the railroad<br>Did you rid the streets of crime<br>Were your dollars from the white house<br>Were they from the five and dime<br><br>Did the old songs taunt or cheer you<br>And did they still make you cry<br>Did you count the months and years<br>Or did your teardrops quickly dry<br><br>Ah, no, says he, 'twas not to be<br>On a coffin ship I came here<br>And I never even got so far<br>That they could change my name<br><br>Thousands are sailing<br>Across the western ocean<br>To a land of opportunity<br>That some of them will never see<br>Fortune prevailing<br>Across the western ocean<br>Their bellies full<br>Their spirits free<br>They'll break the chains of poverty<br>And they'll dance<br><br>In manhattan's desert twilight<br>In the death of afternoon<br>We stepped hand in hand on broadway<br>Like the first man on the moon<br><br>And the blackbird broke the silence<br>As you whistled it so sweet<br>And in brendan behan's footsteps<br>I danced up and down the street<br><br>Then we said goodnight to broadway<br>Giving it our best regards<br>Tipped our hats to mister cohen<br>Dear old times square's favorite bard<br><br>Then we raised a glass to jfk<br>And a dozen more besides<br>When I got back to my empty room<br>I suppose I must have cried<br><br>Thousands are sailing<br>Again across the ocean<br>Where the hand of opportunity<br>Draws tickets in a lottery<br>Postcards we're mailing<br>Of sky-blue skies and oceans<br>From rooms the daylight never sees<br>Where lights don't glow on christmas trees<br>But we dance to the music<br>And we dance<br><br>Thousands are sailing<br>Across the western ocean<br>Where the hand of opportunity<br>Draws tickets in a lottery<br>Where e'er we go, we celebrate<br>The land that makes us refugees<br>From fear of priests with empty plates<br>From guilt and weeping effigies<br>And we dance