Intro Em D Bm Em Verse 1 At The EmTurning Of The DCentury I BmWas A Boy Of EmFive Me EmFather Went To Fight The Boers And He DNever Came Back AGliB7ve Oh Me EmMother Was Left To Bring Us Up, And No BmCharity She'd EmSeek So She EmWashed And Scrubbed And DScraped Along On BmSeven And Six A EmWeek Verse 2 When EmI Was Twelve I DLeft The School And I BmWent To Find A EmJob And With EmGrowing Kids My Ma Was Glad Of The DExtra Couple Of GBoB7b I'm EmSure That Longer Schooling Would Have BmStood Me In Good EmStead But You EmCan't Afford ReDfinements When You're BmStruggling For Your EmBread Verse 3 And EmWhen The Great War DCame Along I BmDidn't HesiEmtate IEm Took The Royal Shilling And Went DOff To Do My GBiB7t We EmFought In Mud And Tears And Blood Three BmYears Or ThereaEmbouts Till I EmCopped Some Gas In DFlanders And Was BmInvalided EmOut Verse 4 And EmWhen The War Was DOver And We'd BmFinished With The EmGuns We EmGot Back Into Civvies And We DThought The Fighting GDoneB7 We'd EmWon The Right To Live In Peace But We BmDidn't Have Such EmLuck For EmSoon We Found We DHad To Fight For The BmRight To Go To EmWork Interlude Em D Bm Em Verse 5 In 'Em26 The DGeneral Strike Saw BmMe Out On The EmStreets And EmI'd A Wife And Kids By Then And Their DNeeds I Had To GMeeB7t For A EmBrave New World Was Coming And A BmBrotherhood Of EmMen And EmWhen The Strike Was DOver We Were BmBack Where We BeEmgan Verse 6 Oh I EmStruggled Through The DThirties Out Of BmWork Now And AEmgain I EmSaw The Black Shirts Marching And The DThings They Did In GSpainB7 I EmBrought Me Kids Up Decent And I BmTaught Them Wrong From EmRight Oh And EmHitler Was The DBoy That Came And He BmTaught Them How To EmFight Verse 7 My EmDaughter Was A DLandgirl, She Got BmMarried To A EmYank And They EmGave Me Son A Medal For Stopping DOne Of Rommel's GTanksB7 He Was EmWounded Just Before The End And He BmConvalesced In EmRome He EmMarried An IDtalian Nurse And Never BmBothered To Come EmHome Verse 8 My EmDaughter Writes Me DOnce A Month, A BmCheerful Little EmNote AEmbout Their Colour Tellys And The DOther Things They've GGotB7 They've EmGot A Son, A Likely Lad; He's BmNearly Twenty-EmOne And They EmTell Me Now He's DBeen Called Up To BmFight In VietEmnam Verse 9 We're EmLiving On The DPension Now, It BmDoesn't Go Too EmFar Not EmMuch To Show For A Life That Seems Like DOne Long Bloody GWarB7 And When You EmThink Of All The Wasted Lives It BmMakes You Want To EmCry I'm EmNot Sure How To DChange Things, But By BmChrist We'll Have To EmTry
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FAQ
What are the chords for The Old Mans Tale?
The chords for The Old Mans Tale are: Em, D, Bm, G, B7
What is the original key of The Old Mans Tale?
The original key is Am.
What is the difficulty of playing The Old Mans Tale?
The difficulty level is Beginner.
Can I play The Old Mans Tale in another key?
Yes. You can transpose the song to any key using the transpose feature.
Can The Old Mans Tale be played on an acoustic guitar?
Yes. The chords work for both acoustic and electric guitar.
Can I play The Old Mans Tale on ukulele?
Chord The Old Mans Tale can be played on guitar or ukulele using their respective chord shapes.
How many chords are used in The Old Mans Tale?
The Old Mans Tale uses 5 chords: Em, D, Bm, G, B7
What is the easiest way to play The Old Mans Tale?
You can use the transpose feature to change the key to one that better matches your vocal range or uses easier chord shapes.
What decade was The Old Mans Tale released in?
The Old Mans Tale was released in the 1960s. See more 1960s songs here
Are there easier chord versions for The Old Mans Tale?
Yes. Tap the Simplify button to switch The Old Mans Tale to beginner-friendly chords - it drops advanced extensions like maj7, m7, and 9ths without changing the song's key or progression.
Guitar Chords
Em
D
Bm
G
B7
Capo · play original chords