(intro) F G Am F G C F G F G

          Am         G            F                Am
    I'm an ordinary man, nothing special, nothing grand,
          F              G            Am
    I've had to work for everything I own.
      Am                G          F                  Am
    I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I'd got,
      F                G            Am
    enough to keep my family and my home.
              F                  G                C           Am
    Now they say that times are hard and they've handed me my cards,
          F                               E
    they say there's not the work to go around.
         Am               G          F                  Am
    And when the whistle blows, the gates will finally close,
      F                        G               Am
    tonight they're going to shut this factory down,
                         F G Am   F G Am
    then they'll tear it do……..wn.

      Am              G                F               Am
    I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay,
          F             G                 Am
    for twenty years I served them best I could,
               Am               G                  F         Am
    now with a handshake and a cheque it seems so easy to forget,
      F                  G                     Am
    loyalty through the bad times and through good.
         F               G                C                Am
    The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad,
             F                                  E
    but the captains of industry won't let him lose.
       Am             G         F          Am
    He still drives a car and smokes his cigar,
         F                  G           Am
    and still he takes his family on a cruise,
                 F G  Am   F G Am
    he'll never lo……....se.

            Am      G           F      Am
    Now it seems to me such a cruel irony,
         F                G            Am
    he's richer now than ever he was before.
    Am                 G         F               Am
    Now my cheque is spent and I can't afford the rent,
             F               G                Am
    there's one law for the rich, one for the poor.
     F               G               C          Am
    Every day I've tried to salvage some of my pride,
         F                                 E
    to find some work so's I might pay my way.
            Am           G       F                Am
    Oh, but everywhere I go, the answer's always "No !"
            F            G            Am
    there's no work for anyone here today,
               F G Am   F G F G
    no work tod……..…ay.“

        Am               G             F       Am
    And so condemned I stand, just an ordinary man,
            F         G               Am
    like thousands beside me in the queue.
      Am                G              F              Am
    I watch my darling wife trying to make the best of life,
         F                 G                Am
    and God knows what the kids are going to do.
     F               G     C              Am
    Now that we are faced with this human waste,
       F                E
    a generation cast aside.
            Am         G      F             Am
    For as long as I live, I never will forgive,
             F                G           Am
    you've stripped me of my dignity and pride.

                       F  G Am        F G Am (2x)
    You've stripped me ba……...re. (3x)

( F G C F E Am G F Am F G Am )