The Wolfe Tones The Streets Of New York Ukulele chords

The Streets Of New York Ukulele by The Wolfe Tones

The Streets Of New York: The Wolfetones
Capo on 2nd fret


F                    Dm         F            F
I was eighteen years old when I went down to Dublin 
       F           Am          Dm          G
With a fistfull of money and a cartload of dreams.
         F                Dm            F            F
"Take your time," said my father, "stop rushing like Hell,
     F             Am           G7       F
And remember all's not what it seems to be.

            G            Am              F            F
For there's fellas who'd cut you for the coat on your back,
        F              Am            G
Or that watch that you got from your mother.
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So take care, my young bucko, and mind yourself well.
              F             G7         F
And would you give this wee note to my brother."

       G                       F            F
At the time, Uncle Benjy was a policeman in Brooklyn,
       G                            F         G
And my father, the youngest, looked after the farm.
      F               Dm            F            F
Til a phone call from America said "Send the lad over."
       F         Am                      G      F
And my old fella said, "Sure, t'wouldn't do any harm.

         F             G            F
For I've spent my life working this dirty old ground
      F              G             F
For a few pints of porter and the smell of a pound.
            F           Dm               F               F
And sure, maybe there's something you'll learn or you'll see,
            F             Am            G7         F
And you can bring it back home, make it easier on me."

F               Dm             F          F
So, I landed at Kennedy, and a big yellow taxi
        F         Am               Dm              G
Carried me and my bags through the streets and the rain.
         F              Dm        F          F
Well, my poor heart was thumping around with excitement,
      F           Am              G7         F
And I hardly even heard what the driver was saying.

        G            Am                  F            F
We came in the Shore Parkway through the flatlands in Brooklyn,
      F        Am               G
To my uncle's apartment on East 53rd.
      F          Dm           F         F
I was feeling so happy, I was humming a song,
      F               G7        F
And I sang "You're as free as a bird."

         G                        F              F
Well, to shorten the story, whatI found out that day         
G                         F       F
Was that Benjy got shot down in an uptown foray.
    F           Dm        F         F
And while I was flying my way to New York,
     F         Am         G         F
Poor Benjy was lying in a cold city morgue.

        F                       G            F
Well, I called up my old fella, told him the news.
        F                    F               G
I could tell he could hardly stand up in his shoes.
       F          Dm          F             F
And he wept as he told me go ahead with the plan,
    F       Am          G           F
And not to forget, be a proud Irish man.

F                Dm        F             F
So, I went up to Nellie's beside Fordham Road,
      F          Am           Dm        G
And I started to learn about lifting my load.
       F         Dm           F            F
But the heaviest thing that I carried that year
        F           Am             G7          F
Was the bittersweet thoughts of my hometown so dear.

       G         Am                F         F
I went home that December cause my old fella died.
         F          Am           Dm             G
I had to borrow the money from a fella on the side.
    F              Dm           F             F
And all the bright flowers and brass couldn't hide
    F            G7         F
The poor, wasted face of my father.

       G                        F           F
I sold off the old far yard for what it was worth,
     G                  F          G
And into my bag stuck a handful of earth.
       F         Dm          F           F
Then I boarded a train and I caught me a plane,
      F            Am          G    F
And I found myself back in the U.S. again.

          F                        F           G
It's been twenty-two years since I set foot in Dublin.
   F            G       F                 F
My kids know to use the correct knife and fork.
         F     Dm               F             F
But I'll never forget the green grass and the rivers,
     F            Am           Dm             F
As I keep law and order in the streets of New York

F               Dm          F        F
Na,na,na  na,na,na,  na,na,na,na,na,na,na,
   F          Am        Dm        F
Na,na,  na,na,na, na,na,na,na,na,na.