C   F   C   G   C

[Verse 1]
         C                          G           C
Have you heard of a ship called the good Reuben James
                                    G            C
Manned by hard fighting men both of honor and of fame
                                       F           C
She flew the Stars and Stripes for the land of the free
                                      G             C
But tonight she's in her grave at the bottom of the sea


[Chorus]
         C                              F               D
Tell me, what were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James
C                              F               D
What were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James


[Verse 2]
    C                              G               C
One hundred men went down to their dark and watery grave
                                  G               C
When that good ship was sunk only forty-four were saved
                                        F               C
T’was the last day of October when they saved the forty-four
                                    G            C
From those dark, icy waters by that cold Iceland shore


[Chorus]
         C                              F               D
Tell me, what were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James
C                              F               D
What were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?


[Verse 3]
       C                         G         C
It was there in the dark of that uncertain night
                                 G            C
That we watched for a U-boat and waited for a fight
                              F               C
Then a whine and a rock and a great explosion roared
                                       G          C
And they laid the Reuben James on that cold ocean floor


[Chorus]
         C                              F               D
Tell me, what were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James
C                              F               D
What were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James


[Interlude]
C   F   C   G   C


[Verse 4]
C                                  G             C
Many years have passed since those brave men are gone
                              G             C
And those cold icy waters are still and are calm
                            F              C
Many years have passed, but still I wonder why
                                    G                C
The worst of men must fight and the best of men must die


[Chorus]
         C                              F               D
Tell me, what were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James
C                              F               D
What were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James


[Chorus]
C                              F               D
What were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James
C                              F               D
What were their names, tell me what were their names
    G                        C
Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James