Dm
Out beyond the street lamp's 
Am             A
And the calliope's roar,
Dm
Past the wrack and samphire,
Am               A 
Beyond the shore,
Dm
I have seen walking through the tide
Gm
As the rain cuts through the spray,
Dm
Chinese Cockle pickers
       Am            A 
On the sands of Morecambe Bay

       Dm
I stood beside them in the corner shop 
Am             A
And in the market too
Dm
I should have spoken to them 
Am               A 
Told them everything I knew;
Dm
Like our mothers told us
Gm
As we went out to play
Dm
Never try and race the tide
 Am            A 
On the sands of Morecambe Bay

          Dm
       For the tide's the very devil,
               Gm
       It will run you out of breath,
               Dm
       Race you to the sea shore,
               Am                A
       Chase you to your death,
                Dm
       Yes the tide's the very devil
                Gm
       And the devil has his day
               Dm             Am      A      Dm                      
      On the lonley cockle grounds of Morecambe Bay

       Dm
Saw them sending money orders home 
Am                    A
There hard earned pay
Dm
Tales of crossing borders 
Am                               A 
On the road to Morecambe Bay;
Dm
Sleeping in crouded rooms
Gm
On cold hard floors
Dm
Sutch dreamless life
       Am             A 
Is not worth dieing for

       Dm
Now I see them in the distance
Am                    A
Laid out in the morning light,
Dm
Migrant workers,
Am                               A 
Twenty-three where drowned last night.
Dm
Their final phone calls
Gm
Half the world had crossed
Dm
Between the river esureys
Am                               A 
They raced the tide and lost.'

             Dm
       For the tide's the very devil,
               Gm
       It will run you out of breath,
               Dm
       Race you to the sea shore,
               Am                A
       Chase you to your death,
                Dm
       Yes the tide's the very devil
                Gm
       And the devil has his day
               Dm             Am      A      Dm                      
       On the lonley cockle grounds of Morecambe Bay





       Dm
In Fujian and Xelang
Am                    
They mourn their next of kin,
Dm
Gang masters with snake tattoos,
Am                               A 
Call money lones back in
Dm
Broken hearted parents
Gm
Watch their children stow away,
Dm
To die among the 
Am             A     Dm
Cockle banks of Morecome Bay

             Dm
       For the tide's the very devil,
                Gm
       And the devil has his day
               Dm             Am      A      Dm                      
       On the lonley cockle grounds of Morecambe Bay