Ordinary Man

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 d-o-w-n

I never missed a day nor went on strike for higher pay

For twenty years I served them best I could

Now with a handshake and a cheque it seems so easy to forget

Loyalty through the bad times and through good

The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad

But the captains of industry won't let him lose

He still drives a car and smokes his cigar

And still he takes his family on a cruise, he'll never lose

Well it seems to me such a cruel irony

He's richer now than ever he was before

Now my cheque is spent and I can't afford the rent

There's one law for the rich, one for the poor

Every day I've tried to salvage some of my pride

To find some work so's I might pay my way

Oh but everywhere I go, the answer's always no

There's no work for anyone here today, no work today

BREAK - 1st four lines

And so condemned I stand, just an ordinary man

Like thousands beside me in the queue

I watch my darling wife trying to make the best of life

And God knows what the kids are going to do

Now that we are faced with this human waste

A generation cast aside

And as long as I live, I never will forgive

You've stripped me of my dignity and pride, you've stripped me bare

You've stripped me bare, you've stripped me bare.