Gordon Bok - The Wreck Of The Green Cove Chords

[Intro]
A  E A  E A


[Verse 1]
               D      A
I was broke in old Vancouver
               E
Met a mate, an all-time loser
A                D
He said he could help me out
          A              E      A    E A
So to the tugboat office we set out
D                A
Right away, they said, "Me boy,
      E                A
We'll sign you up this very day"
   D                    A
So to the harbour, unsuspectin'
E                      A    E A
Ridin' high, I made my way


[Verse 2]
                     D         A
When first I saw the old Green Cove
                       E
Her keel was bent, her pipes were stoved
    A                  D
The decks were leaking on the bunks
        A                 E      A       E A
And the paint was peelin' off in chunks
    D                          A
The engine-room was thick with grease
    E                          A
The stack with rust, was eaten through
D                       A
Deck-head, it was all a shambles
E                       A    E A
Towline broken right in two


[Verse 3]
                      D        A
I went aboard and the mate was drunk
                       E
The skipper passed out in his bunk
    A                     D
The chief was in an awful pain
       A                 E    A     E A
With a bout of the rheumatis again
D                      A
In despair, I wandered aft
    E                   A
The bilge in the galley was knee-deep
D                   A
Dirty dishes in the sink
                        E           A      E A
And the rats around the shelves did creep


[Instrumental]
D    A E    A  E A


[Verse 4]
                       D       A
I'll never know how we made it out
                         E
From the dockside in and round about
     A                            D
Past Brockton Point in a terrible fog
    A                 E      A    E A
The Green Cove ridin' like a log
        D                   A
But the fog in the mate's befuddled mind
    E                      A
Was thicker than it was outside
   D                          A
As at the wheel he weaved and swayed
E                         A     E A
We set out on our fateful ride


[Verse 5]
                          D      A
That night as I heard the mate a-snorin'
                E
Keeping time to teredos borin'
  A                         D
I tried my darnedest not to think
       A                     E           A     E A
Of the long ride down if the boat should sink
D                             A
Late that night, a storm come up
    E                     A
The pump gave out and the seas come in
    D                        A
And I had to pump her out by hand
      E                                 A    E A  E A
And I swore, by god, that the sea would win


[Verse 6]
                       D    A
By luck we reached our destination
            E
A windswept bay, sheer desolation
A             D
Blowin' hard, blowin' cold
A                    E         A     E A
Coldest night of the year, I'm told
   D                      A
We tied the tug up to the tow
                  E                  A
There wasn't much else that we could do
    D                            A
The skipper says, "Boys, let 'er blow
      E                       A    E A
We'll patch her up as good as new"


[Verse 7]
                                D         A
Well, three days passed and the wind died down
                  E
We set off towin' logs to town
      A                        D
But a mightier wind was yet to blow
               A         E     A      E A
But how in the Hell were we to know?
    D                          A
But old Dame Fortune served us well
   E                      A
As past the Refuge we did wind
  D                      A
Potato Point and Harwood Island
E                      A     E A
Towin' logs and makin' time


[Verse 8]
                           D         A
But this good luck that we could not match
                             E
Gave out when we reached the Cabbage Patch
     A                D
Down Malaspina we did trail
  A         E       A     E A
A westerly upon our tail
   D                             A
We rounded Scotch Fir, turned up Jervis
E                A
Buckin' tide all on the way
D                      A
Made poor time over Agamemnon
E                     A    E A
Had to tie up in Boom Bay


[Verse 9]
                             D      A
Well, the wind died down and we set off
                      E
But the engine soon began to cough
        A                  D
And the matched-up seams began to leak
        A                E         A      E A
And the old boat she did groan and creak
    D                        A
Oh, we was desperate, low on vittles
E               A
Had some coffee and some tea
      D                        A
And a dozen cans of Campbell's finest
E                        A    E A
Chicken Noodle and Green Pea


[Verse 10]
                  D         A
Off Merry Island, late that night
                      E
A storm come down, it was a fright
      A               D
Trail Islands we knew we must reach
       A                 E      A      E A
Or the tow would soon be on the beach
        D                      A
But the skipper he was reading Climax
E                  A
Missed the channel in the dark
       D                        A
With a sickenin' grindin' and a crash
     E                             A     E A
He'd piled her up on the Southeast Rock


[Verse 11]
                    D        A
He piled her up, he bent her wheel
                          E
He cracked her sternpost, broke her keel
    A                D
And off that rock we felt her slide
       A                     E         A     E A
With a sickenin' list to the starboard side
          D                               A
Well, the winds did howl and the seas did roar
        E                   A
And the Green Cove she went three times round
D                      A
Whistled us a last farewell
    E                       A     E A   E A
And slithered forty fathoms down


[Verse 12]
                                         D    A
Now the skipper and the mate grabbed the only lifeboat
                         E
Rowed like Hell from the sinking tugboat
A                   D
Rowin' hard for the nearest land
    A                      E        A    E A
The last they were seen by woman or man
        D                               A
And the chief, that skunk from Campbell River
E                       A
Grabbed the life-rings, one, two, three
D                            A
Left me there with a hemlock sliver
E                           A    E A
Tossin' round on the stormy sea


[Verse 13]
                       D        A
I was washed up at the break of day
                    E
Along the shores of Sargent Bay
    A                     D
The only survivor of that gale
       A                 E        A     E A
That's left to tell this mournful tale
    D                          A
And now that you have heard my story
                    E    A
You'll know why, forever more
D                     A
I'll never go to sea again
    E                       A      E A
I'm quite contented here on shore