Tom: G
G Em | Am | Em G | C |
G Em | Am | Em G | C |
[Verse 1]
Am |C | |G |
In the fall of 1883 I had just one more load of coal for the Cornish Jacks at the Silver Islet mine
G |Am
Beneath the icy waves, they picked and hacked at the silver caves
C |G
And the coal fires kept them dry
D | |
And I never once did think that just a couple drinks
|C | |
Could cause that mine to die
Intro: G Em | Am | Em G | C |
[Verse 2]
Am |C | |G |
For 17 good years I've been a faithful captain here Always had an eye for the weather
G |Am
And it's an easy thing to say, if you're looking for someone to blame
C |G
Well, the captain should have known better
D | |
And everyone still thinks that the captain's love of drink
C | |
Is why that silver mine died
[Chorus]
Em |C
I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear
C |G |D
Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?"
Em D|C
The Tuttle is your ship, and you surely have the right
C | Am | | C |
To set the time of sail And to stay here where it's warm one more night
Intro: G Em | Am | Em G | C |
[Verse 3]
Am |C |
The captain of my ship and the master of my pride
C |G |
But still there's an undertow in every sailor's mind
G |Am |
And the blue of Sally's eyes and the warmth of her thighs
C |G |
Spoke to me in terms that could not be denied
D | |
I turned my back on the lake, thinking she would wait
C | |
And give me a little more time
intro: G Em | Am | Em G | C |
[Verse 4]
Am |C |
With gin and love, half-crazed, we'd lain there for three days
C |G |
When I staggered to the window to catch a breath of air
G |Am |
I remember Sally laughed as an icy winter blast
C |G |
Caught me in the face and snapped back my hair
D | |
And one thought filled my head, as I fell back on the bed:
C | |
That silver mine's gonna die
[Chorus]
Em |C
I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear
C |G |D
Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?"
Em D|C
The Tuttle is your ship, and you surely have the right
C | Am | | C |
To set the time of sail And to stay here where it's warm one more night
[Solo]
G Em | Am | Em G | C |
[Verse 5]
Am |C |
We stoked the boilers hot But the Tuttle she was caught
C |G |
No way to get the lake to change her stubborn mind
C |A |
There was no way to entice that wretched winter ice
C |G |
To leave a channel open to the Silver Islet Mine
D | |
And with no coal to fire the pumps And November all at once
C | |
The lake had drowned that mine
[Verse 6]
Am |C | |G
In the fall of 1883, just one more load of coal would have saved the Silver Islet Mine
G |Am |
Now I know that I'm to blame, and I must bear the shame
C |G |
But try to understand the nature of my crime
D | |
I was unfaithful to the lake, she raged at my mistake
C | |
She wanted that mine to die
[Chorus]
Em |C
I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear
C |G |D
Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?"
Em D|C
The Tuttle is your ship, and you surely have the right
C | Am | | C |
To set the time of sail And to stay here where it's warm one more night
