ADAF#mEA
[Verse]
DAF#mED
I was born a land-bound farm boy and in New England raised
AF#mE
The rippling of the wheat fields, well they were my ocean waves
ADAF#mED
Each rise and fall, each cry and call, of the crows across the corn
AEA
Were seagulls swooping around the bow
DF#mEA
Of the ship I dreamed I’d sail around Cape Horn
[Instrumental]
ADAF#mEA
[Verse]
DAF#mED
My deck was the dusty farmyard, my mast was the telegraph pole
AF#mE
The windblown whine in the telegraph wire, was the sound called in my soul
ADAF#mED
And it seemed to have been singing since the day that I was born
AEA
You're gonna take a trip on a sailing ship
DF#mEA
All the way around the wild Cape Horn
[Instrumental]
ADAF#mEA
[Verse]
DAF#mED
Well, I found that ship in Hamburg and her name it was Peking
AF#mE
Our skipper’s name was Jervis, well I never met a man like him
ADAF#mED
He pulled two men out from the sea, by the hair, in a raging storm
AEA
And he kept that grip on the sailing ship
DF#mEA
All the way around the wild Cape Horn
[Verse]
DAF#mED
Well, the cargo weighed five thousand tons, the ship three thousand more
AF#mE
An acre of sail was up aloft, some seventeen storeys tall
ADAF#mED
And we had a pig and a scruffy dog and a turkey fed on corn
AEA
Willing hands to drive her on
DF#mEA
All the way around the wild Cape Horn
[Verse]
E
Well, its four hours on and its four hours off
BmD
And you sleep in your wet clothes
ADF#mE
The only dry thing on the ship is the cargo down below
ADAF#mED
Eleven thousand miles we sailed, nigh on one hundred dawns
AEA
Thirty two sails on a heaving ship
DF#mEA
Hauling us around the wild Cape Horn
[Instrumental]
A D A F#m E A x2
[Verse]
DAF#mED
Seventeen days we were becalmed, then Friday the thirteenth
AF#mE
Sixty-eight great ships were lost in the storm of the century
ADAF#mED
We blew into the Atlantic on a sunlit sparkling morn
AEA
The turkey got sick, so we ate him quick
DF#mEA
On the way around the wild Cape Horn
[Verse]
DAF#mED
We lost two boys along the voyage, they got washed overboard
AF#mE
Silence from us down below, no one could put in words
ADAF#mED
Two empty bunks to mark the space, their two lives to mourn
AEA
Torn between all life and death
DF#mEA
All the way around the wild Cape Horn
[Verse]
E
Well, she had us sort of hypnotised
BmD
No time to catch our breath
ADF#mE
If you want to love your life, you have to flirt with death
ADAF#mED
Sail close to the harnessed wind and treat all risks with scorn
AEA
A farm boy and an unyoked team
DF#mEA
Ploughed their way around the wild Cape Horn
[Instrumental]
A D A F#m E A x2
[Verse]
DAF#mED
Mountain waves like avalanches, crashed upon the decks
AF#mE
The screaming winds ripped ropes and spars and tried to have us wrecked
ADAF#mED
But she rose and fell through foam and swell, her sails all ripped and torn
AEA
Eight thousand tons, tossed like a cork
F#mEA
We made it 'round the wild Cape Horn
[Verse]
E
Well, she had us sort of hypnotised
BmD
No time to catch our breath
ADF#mE
If you want to love your life, well you have to flirt with death
ADAF#mED
Sail close to the harnessed wind and treat all risks with scorn
AEA
A farm boy and an unyoked team
DF#mEA
Ploughed their way around the wild Cape Horn
AEA
A farm boy and an unyoked team
DF#mEA
Ploughed their way around the wild Cape Horn