BIG RIVER
words and music by Jimmy Nail

Intro Bb, Bbm, F  (repeat)

F          Fsus4       F                Bb
walking on cobble stone, little bits of skin and bone
Dm             Am             Gm        C, Csus4
jumping on the tram car for a ride
F       Fsus4       F             Bb
I can remember then, I was just a boy of ten
Dm           Am               Gm        C, Csus4
hanging out along the old quayside
Bb             F             Dm
now all the capstans and the cargo boats
     Bb
and stevadores are gone
                 F
to where all the old ships go
       Gsus4, G            Csus4 C    F
but memories just like the seas live on

              Fsus4
that was when coal was king,
F            Bb
the river a living thing
Dm             Am                Gm
and I was just a boy, but it was mine, 
Csus4 C     F    Bb   C
the  coaly tyne

           F   Bb
this was a big river,
    Dm            Am               Gm     C, Csus4
I want you all to know that I was proud
           F    Bb        Dm            Am
this was a big river, but that was long ago,
           Gm     Csus4 C                   F        
that's not now,                 that's not now
  

F                Fsus4
my father was a working man,
F                     Bb
he earned our living with his hands
Dm                  Am           Gm     C, Csus4
he had to cross the river every day
F               Fsus4    F           Bb
he picked up a union card out of the Neptune yard
Dm        Am                Gm      C, Csus4
mouths to feed and bills to pay
Bb           F               Dm                          Bb
then came a time for him to sail across the sea   and far away
Bb        F               
finally when the war was won

Gsus4 G           Csus4    C             F
you   brought him home and home he stayed


F            Fsus4           F       Bb
and when his days were done, under a golden sun
Dm                  Am                Gm
you carried him to where he longed to be,
Csus4       C       F         Bb, C
Back       to the sea

           F    Bb
this was a big river,
  Dm              Am               Gm     C, Csus4
I want you all to know that I was proud
           F    Bb        Dm            Am
this was a big river, but that was long ago,
            Gm     Csus4  C                 F        
that's not now,                 that's not now


Repeat Intro
  

F                   Fsus4
the Neptune was the last to go,
F                 Bb
I heard it on my radio
Dm                       Am            Gm   Csus4, C
and then they played the latest number one
F        Fsus4
but what do they do all day?
F                  Bb
and what are they supposed to say?
Dm          Am                Gm     Csus4, C
what does a father tell his son?
Bb            F                     Dm                              Bb
if you you believed that there's a bond between our future and our past
            F         
try to hold on to what we had,
Gsus4  G          Csus4       C         F    
we     build them strong, we build to last



F                Fsus4       F                Bb
'cause this is a mighty town, it's built upon solid ground
Dm                  Am               Gm   
and everything they tried so hard to kill,
Csus4   C         F            Bb   C
we      will rebuild



           F   Bb
this was a big river
  Dm              Am               Gm      Csus4    C
I want you all to know that I was proud
           F    Bb        Dm            Am
this was a big river, but that was long ago,
           Gm     Csus4   C
that's not now
          F    Bb
this is a big river,
    Dm             Am                 Bb
and in my heart I know it will rise again
       C             F     Fsus4    F
the river will rise again


Dedicated to Jimmy Bradford (1914 - 1990)

Tab by Alan Jenkins (alanrjenkins@yahoo.co.uk for more)