Ballad Of The Yarmouth Castle

The Ballad of The Yarmouth Castle Gordon Lightfoot 1969 Capo at the second fret and fingerpick.  At the end of the first and third lines of each verse use /Gsus4/ riff.  At the end of the second and fourth lines use an /Asus4//Asus2/ riff. CHORDS:  Asus2  002200  Asus4  002230  Gsus4  320013 Well it’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon the anchors have been weighed  From Miami to Nassau she’s bound across the waves.  She’s a-headin’ south through Biscayne Bay into the open sea  The Yarmouth Castle’s she’s a-dying and don’t know it!  There were many years she’s been to sea she’s seen the better times  She gives a groan of protest as they cast away her lines.  And the grumble of her engines and the rust along her spine  Tells the Castle she’s too old to be sailing.  But the sands run out within her heart a tiny spark glows red Smoulders through the evening as laughter overhead  Now when dinner’s served and the cards are dealt & the        drinks are passed around Deep within the fire starts a-burning.  Now it’s midnight on the open sea the moon is shining bright  Some people join the party and others say goodnight.  There’s many who are sleeping now it’s been a busy day  And the tiny whisp of smoke is a-risin’.  "Oh lord" she groans "I’m burnin’ let someone understand!"  But her silent plea is wasted in the playin’ of the band!  Everybody’s dancin’ on the deck and they’re a-havin’ such a time  And a voice says "Shut up and deal I’m losin’"  Deep within the Yarmouth Castle the fire begins to glow  It leaps into the hallways and climbs and twists and grows!  And the paint she wore to keep her young oh Lord how well it burns!  And soon that ol’ fire is ragin’.  Now beneath the bridge it’s climbing fast the captain stands aloft  He calls up to the bos’un says "Bos’un we are lost!" For the ragged hoses in the racks no pressure do they hold  The people down below will soon be dyin’.  All amidship’s oh she’s a-blazin’ now it’s spreadin’ fore and aft!  The people are a-scramblin’ as the fire blocks the path.  The evil smoke surrounds them and they’re fallin’ in their tracks  And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin’.  BREAK:                 Oh then the ship Bahama Star comes steamin’ through the night  She sees the Castle blazin’ and ’tis a terrible sight.  "Jump down jump down" the captain cries "we’ll save you if we can!"  And the paint on his funnels is a-fryin’.  God help the ones who sleep below and cannot find the way  Thank God for those we rescued upon this awful day!  Now the heroes they are many but the times are goin’ slim  And now from stern to bow she’s a-blazin’.  Oh the Yarmouth Castle’s moanin’ she’s cryin’ like a child  You can hear her if you listen above the roar so wild.  Is she cryin’ for the ones who lie within her molten sides  Or cryin’ for herself I’m a-wonderin’?  But the living soon were rescued the ones who lived to tell  From the Star they a-watched her as she died there in the swells.  Like a toy ship on a mill pond she burned all through the night  Then slipped beneath the waves in the mornin’.