The Whispers From Coffin Ships
View chords used in this chart
[Intro ]
Em / G / D / Em
C / G / D / Em
[Verso 1]
Em G
The whispers from the coffin ships
D Em
Still carried on the sea,
C G
Of mothers torn from hearth and kin,
D Em
Of all we'll never be.
[Refrão]
G D
The thousand names the ocean keeps
C Em
Beneath her silent sway,
C G
They left in hope, they died in dread,
D Em
And still they drift today.
[Verso 2]
Em G
So stand in hush, let sorrow speak
D Em
And hear them in the foam,
C G
The cries of kin who died at sea
D Em
Still drifting far from home.
Em G
The famine took all they possessed,
D Em
The empire claimed their land,
C G
Their names now lost on salted winds
D Em
Etched faint on foreign sand.
[Verso 3]
Em G
They sailed from Cork and Donegal,
D Em
From Limerick, Clare, and Mayo,
C G
With hollow eyes and hunger deep
D Em
And nowhere else to go.
Em G
A crust of bread, a whispered prayer,
D Em
A promise wrapped in lies,
C G
Only coffin planks and fever's hand
D Em
Could still their children's cries.
[Verso 4]
Em G
The landlords watched with hollow eyes,
D Em
The bishops turned away,
C G
The ships were packed like cattle carts
D Em
And cast into the spray.
Em G
Crops seized by forces of the crown,
D Em
Kin starved to skin and bone,
C G
Their justice drowned beneath the waves,
D Em
Forgotten and alone.
[Verso 5]
Em G
We knew their names, they were our kin,
D Em
Starved and cast to sea,
C G
With rats and rot and broken hearts
D Em
They sailed unwillingly.
Em G
But silence cannot hold their voice
D Em
Though lost without a name,
C G
Their silence haunts the ocean winds
D Em
And sorrow speaks the same.
[Verso 6]
(Climax)
Em G
So stop the hush and let them speak,
D Em
Let history be retold,
C G
The whispers from the coffin ships
D Em
Still shake the foreign hold.
Em G
From coffin planks and famine's cries
D Em
A nation still shall rise,
C G
With fury in her blood once more
D Em
And vengeance in her eyes.
Outro
C / G / D / Em
How to play The Whispers From Coffin Ships
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is Em. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.