C G I was born in the shadow of the Fairfield crane C Where the blast o' a freighter's horn G C Was the very first sound that reached my ears F G On the morning I was born F I lay and I listened tae the shipyard sound C Coming out of the unknown G C And was lulled to sleep by the mother tongue F G That was to be my own [Instrumental] C G/B F G x2 [Verse] C G But before I grew tae be one year old C I heard the sirens scream G C As a city watched in the blacked-out night F G A wandering searchlight beam F And then at last I awoke and rose C Tae my first day of peace G C For I'd learned that the battle to stay alive F G Was never going tae cease [Instrumental] C G/B F G x2 [Verse] C G I sat and I listened tae my father tell C Of the days that he once knew G C When ye either sweated for a measly wage F G Or ye joined the parish queue F As times grew harder day by day C Along the riverside G C I oftimes heard my mother say F G "It was tears that made the Clyde" [Instrumental] C G/B F G x2 [Verse] C G Now I've sat in the school frae nine tae four C And I've dreamed of the world outside G C Where the riveters and the platers watch F G Their ships slip tae the Clyde F I've served ma time behind the shipyard gates C And I've sometimes mourned my lot G C But if any man tries tae mess me about F G I will fight like my father fought