Sierra Leone

	  		
verse 1 
  C            G             C       G 
I found an old letter caught under a stone 
       C          G          F            G 
By the sea in the lee of the cliffs, all alone 
    C          Am            Em           F 
Its pages were tattered from where it had blown 
   Dm            C         G         C 
To land from the hand of a sailor, unknown 
F            C          G      C 
There by the coast of Sierra Leone 


verse 2 
                  G             C               G 
"Dear Friend", it read, "I have missed you, you know 
         C              G              F        G 
When you walked and you talked with me so long ago 
  C           Am        Em            F 
I shoved you aside as I rushed to and fro 
Dm             C           G         C   F  C  G  C  Am 
Friend, my old friend, who never let go" 

 
Em             F                          C 
Friend, my old friend, who looked out for me 
                         F                         G 
Through squalls and long hauls, while I sailed the sea 
  Am        G        C          F 
I need your watchful eye at the prow 
            C             Am            C 
I know that you know, I’m kneeling here now 



Interlude: C 


verse 3 
   C             G              C              G 
My ship hugs the rocks, and the gale’s my back door 
C           G            F          G 
Lashing and smashing and waging its war 
   C            Am               Em        F 
My crew man the lifeboat, please see them ashore 
    Dm             C         G          C 
All told, it won’t hold even one person more 
F         C      G           C 
Here by Sierra Leone’s rocky floor 


verse 4 
              G         C                 G 
Forgive my neglect, old friend, it was my loss  
  C           G           F              G 
I wait for my fate as the ship starts to toss 
  C             Am        Em           F 
I feel the cold waters, I see the dark moss 
       Dm                C          G           C      F  C  G  C  Am 
Will I sail through this gale or to heaven on a cross? 


Chorus 
Em             F                          C 
Friend, my old friend, who looked out for me 
                         F                         G 
Through squalls and long hauls, while I sailed the sea 
Am            G        C               F 
I’ll take the wheel if you’ll ride the bow 
              C              Am            C 
You know that I know, you’re standing here now 



Interlude 
C 


Verse 5 
     C            G          C      G 
As I stood on the rocks of Sierra Leone 
       C             G        F      G 
By the sea, the blue sea of Sierra Leone 
C            Am             Em         F 
Close by the spot where the letter had blown 
    Dm          C             G         C 
And thought for naught of the sailor, unknown 
F            C          G      C 
There by the coast of Sierra Leone 


Verse 6 
               G              C        G 
Then I saw old letters carved into the stone  
       C             G        F      G 
By the sea, the blue sea of Sierra Leone 
 C              Am            Em            F 
'Thank you, old Friend', just those words, alone  
       Dm           C           G         C 
Carved there like a prayer by a sailor, unknown 
F           C          G      C 
Here on the coast of Sierra Leone 
F           C         G         C 
Here by the hand of a sailor, unknown