The Back Door

F

[Chorus]
                           C
I didn't see the Statue of Liberty
      F                   C
Never heard her welcoming words
  G                           C
I came through the back door, silently
  G                    C
Unwanted, unseen and unheard


[Verse 1]
  Dm       G         C
I know I'm lonely in this country
  Dm      G           C
I think I always have been
  Dm        G         C
I knew as a child I'd leave Ireland
    Dm                          G
The goodbyes were ghosts in the wind


[Verse 2]
  F            G          C
A dream handed down in my family
      F            G          C
Uncle Pat and Aunt Han before him
    Dm7      G        C
And over the radio to haunt me
        Dm                      C
All the songs they sang were of leaving


[Chorus]
  F              G         C
I didn't see the Statue of Liberty
      F         G         C
Never heard her welcoming words
  Dm               G          C
I came through the back door, silently
  G                    C
Unwanted, unseen and unheard


[Verse 3]
  Dm         G               C
I don't mind hard work for a living
        Dm          G       C
There's so much I'm able to do
  Dm             G          C
I can't spend my life as a "live-in"
     Dm                      G
With nothing to look forward to


[Verse 4]
  F           G           C
I want my own bed, my own kitchen
  F       G           C
I want my nights to myself
  Dm7           G         C
I don't want to hide underground anymore
      Dm                       C
If it means that I hide from myself


[Bridge]
              F          G              C     ~ Am
"Give me your poor, your tired and your hungry
    Dm7       G            C
The exiles of your teaming shores"
      Dm             G
Words carved deep in stone
           C              Am
And in the hearts back at home
        C             G         C
But not meant for the living anymore


[Instrumental]
Dm  G  C ~ Am  Dm  G  C


[Verse 5]
      Dm        G   C
I'm a long time out by the back door
  Dm        G         C
A long time passing unseen
    Dm          G            C        ~ Am
The voices that haunt me are harsh now
   Dm                     G
Confuse me and urge me to leave


[Verse 6]
    F           G          C    ~   Am
But I claim the promise of this country
    F          G           C   Am
And I have the right to my own dream
    Dm7        G          C          ~ Am
And no one can take that away from me
          Dm                          C
If I have half a chance here, I'm not leaving


[Chorus]
  F              G         C ~  Am
I didn't see the Statue of Liberty
      F         G         C
Never heard her welcoming words
  Dm               G          C
I came through the back door, silently
  G                    C
Unwanted, unseen and unheard
  G                    C
Unwanted, unseen and unheard