Thousands Are Sailing
Pogues

The island it is silent now
But the ghosts still haunt the waves
And the torch lights up a famished man
Who fortune could not save

Did you work upon the railroad
Did you rid the streets of crime
Were your dollars from the white house
Were they from the five and dime

Did the old songs taunt or cheer you
And did they still make you cry
Did you count the months and years
Or did your teardrops quickly dry

Ah, no, says he, 'twas not to be
On a coffin ship I came here
And I never even got so far
That they could change my name

Thousands are sailing
Across the western ocean
To a land of opportunity
That some of them will never see
Fortune prevailing
Across the western ocean
Their bellies full
Their spirits free
They'll break the chains of poverty
And they'll dance

In Manhattan's desert twilight
In the death of afternoon
We stepped hand in hand on Broadway
Like the first man on the moon

And The Blackbird broke the silence
As you whistled it so sweet
And in Brendan Behan's footsteps
I danced up and down the street

Then we said goodnight to Broadway
Giving it our best regards
Tipped our hats to Mister Cohen
Dear old Times Square's favorite bard

Then we raised a glass to JFK
And a dozen more besides
When I got back to my empty room
I suppose I must have cried

Thousands are sailing
Again across the ocean
Where the hand of opportunity
Draws tickets in a lottery
Postcards we're mailing
Of sky-blue skies and oceans
From rooms the daylight never sees
Where lights don't glow on Christmas trees
And we danced to the music
And we dance

Thousands are sailing
Across the western ocean
Where the hand of opportunity
Draws tickets in a lottery
Where e'er we go, we celebrate
The land that makes us refugees
From fear of Priests with empty plates
From guilt and weeping effigies
And we danced to the music
And we dance


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Lyrics by Pogues

  5 Green Queens And Jean   A Pair Of Brown Eyes   A Pair Of Brown Eyes (Live)   A Rainy Night In Soho   A Rainy Night In Soho (Live)   Amadie   An American Body   And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda   Anniversary   Big City   Billy's Bones   Blue Heaven   Boat Train   Bottle Of Smoke   Bottle Of Smoke (Live)   Boys From The County Hell   Bright Lights   Cotton Fields   Curse Of Love   Dark Streets Of London   Dirty Old Town   Dirty Old Town (Live)   Down All the Days   Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go   Drunken Boat   Every Man Is A King   Fairytale Of New York   Fairytale Of New York (and Kirsty MacColl)   Fairytale Of New York (Live)   Fiesta   Fiesta (Live)   Five Green Queens And Jean   Four O'Clock In The Morning   Galway Races   Gartloney Rats   Girl From The Wadi Hammamat   Greenland Whale Fisheries   Gridlock   Haunted   Haunting   Hell's Ditch   Honky Tonk Woman   House Of The Gods   How Come   I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day   I'm A Man You Don't Meet Everyday   If I Should Fall From Grace With God   If I Should Fall From Grace With God (Live)   Jack's Heroes   Jesse James   Johnny Come Lately   Just One Of Those Things   Kitty   Living In A World Without Her   London Girl   London You're a Lady   Lorca's Novena   Lorelei   Love You 'till The End   Lullaby Of London   Lullaby Of London (Live)   Medley   Medley (Recruiting Sergeant, Rocky Road To Dublin,...   Metropolis   Miss Otis Regrets   Misty Morning, Albert Bridge   Modern World   Mother Mo Chroi   Muirshin Durkin   My Baby's Gone   Navigator   Night Train to Lorca   Once Upon A Time   Oretown   Pachinko   Paris St. Germain   Point Mirabeau   Pont Mirabeau   Poor Paddy   Rain Street   Rain Street (Live)   Rainbow Man   Rake At The Gates Of Hell   Recruiting Sergeant   Repeal Of The Licensing Laws   Sally MacLennane   Sally MacLennane (Live)   Sayonara   Sea Shanty   Sit Down By The Fire   Sitting On Top Of The World   Six To Go   Small Hours   Smell Of Petroleum   South Australia   Star Of The County Down   Streams Of Whiskey   Streams Of Whiskey (Live)   Streets of Sorrow   Streets Of Sorrow/birmingham Six   Streets Of Sorrow\/Birmingham Six   Summer In Siam   Sunnyside Of The Street   The Auld Triangle   The Body Of An American   The Body Of An American (Live)   The Boys From The County Hell   The Boys From The County Hell (Live)   The Broad Majestic Shannon   The Broad Majestic Shannon (Live)   The Gentleman Soldier   The Ghost Of A Smile   The Irish Rover   The Irish Rover (featuring The Dubliners)   The Irish Rover (Live)   The Irish Rover (with The Dubliners)   The Leaving Of Liverpool   The Limerick Rake   The Old Main Drag   The Old Main Drag (Live)   The Parting Glass   The Rare Old Mountain Dew   The Rocky Road to Dublin   The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn   The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn (Live)   The Star Of County Down   The Sun And The Moon   The Sunnyside Of The Street   The Wake Of The Medusa   Tombestone   Tombstone   Tosspint   Transmetropolitan   Tuesday Morning   Tuesday Morning (Live)   Turkish Song Of The Damned   Turkish Song Of The Damned (Live)   USA   Waxie's Dargle   When The Ship Comes In   Where That Love's Been Gone   Whiskey In The Jar   Whiskey You're The Devil   Whiskey, You're The Devil   White City   Wild Rover   Worms   Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah   Yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah,yeah   Young Ned of the Hill   Young Ned Of The Hill (Live)

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