Driving The Last Spike (Banks/Collins/Rutherford, main lyricist Collins)

Album : We can't dance

transcribed from the live version on "the way we walk vol II : the longs"
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A big group work, but Tony Banks' main influence is undeniable.

The song seem to be built like a duel between the synth and the guitar
like "the cinema show".

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The first tonality is in G

Repetitive guitar riff

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let ring
-----------3-------3\(5)~-3~~---
---------3---------3\(5)~-3~~---
--(sl)\5------------------------
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Synth intro [G]

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Chord notes from down to high

G A A G G A A G G A A B A G A B
E E D D E E D D E E D D E E F# F#
C C B B C C B B C C B B C C D D

G D/F# Em C/D
Leaving my family behind me

Bm Em
not knowing what lay ahead

G D/F# Em D/D
waving goodbye, as I left them in tears

Bm C
remembering all we'd said
C D/C
I looked to the sky, I offered my prayers

Bm C
I asked Him for guidance and strength

G D/F# Em D/D
but the simple beliefs of a simple man

Bm D
lay in His hands, and on my head

Theme : [G] [Bm] [C] [G]

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A B D C B A G F# E C E G B D C E G E G F#
[C] [D] [Em] [Cmaj7] [D6] [C] [D]

G D/F# Em C/D
I gave everything that they wanted

Bm Em
but still they wanted more

G D/F#
we sweat and we toiled

Em C/D
good men lost their lives

Bm C
I don't think they knew what for

C
I sold them my heart

D/C
I sold them my soul

Bm C
I gave everything I had
G D/F# Em C/D
ah but they couldn't break my spirit

Bm D
my dignity fought back,

C D C
fightback

Chorus
------
E
can you hear me
can you see

G
Don't you hear me

A
don't you see

Riff in [Em] Organ : [Em] [D] [A]

[D] [A] [G]

[Em]
We worked in gangs for all we were worth
the young boys pulling the wagons
we were digging the tunnel, shifting the earth
it was then that it happened.

[A]
No-one knew how the cracks appeared
but as it fell they all disappeared
stone fell like rain

Chorus
------
E
can you hear me
can you see

G
Don't you hear me

A
don't you see

[Bm] 4 Bars

Theme : [G] [Bm] [C] [G]

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A B D C B A G F# E C E G B D C E G E G F#
[C] [D] [Em] [Cmaj7] [D6] [C] [D]

Verse
-----
The smoke cleared, the dust it settled
No one knew how many had died
all around there were broken men
they'd said it was safe, they'd lied
you could hear the cries, you could smell the fear
but good fortune that day was mine
and it occurred to me the heart of a good man
it seems is hard to find.

Chorus
------
E
can you hear me
can you see

G
Don't you hear me

A
don't you see

{Guitar Interlude}

| C | F / Bb | C | Bb | 7 times
We worked, how we worked like
the devil for our pay
through the wind, through the snow,
and through the rain

Blasting and cutting through Gods country like a knife

sweat stinging my eyes, there has to be a better life

Ah but I can hear my childrens' cry

I can see the tears in their eyes
memories of those I've left behind
still ringing in my ears

| C | F / Bb | C | Bb/C | C | Bb/C | C | G | G7 |

Will I ever go back again

Will I ever see her face again
I'll never forget that night
As they waved goodbye to their fathers

F/A Am
We came from the North,

C G
and we came from the South

F G
with picks and with spades

F
and a new kind of order

G F Dm
showing no fear of what lies up ahead

Am/E F C
They'll never see the likes of us again

| C | F / Bb | C | Bb | 7 TIMES

Driving the last spike,

lifting and laying the track
with blistering hands,
the sun burning your back

Oh but I can hear my childrens' cry

I can see the tears in their eyes

| C | F / Bb | C | Bb/C | C | Bb/C | C | G | G7 |

memories of those I've left behind

still ringing in my ears
Well I'll always remember that night,
As they waved goodbye to their fathers

F/A Am C G
We followed the rail, we slept under the stars

F G F
digging in darkness, and living with danger

G F Dm
showing no fear of what lies up ahead

Am/E F C
They'll never see the likes of us again

Theme (1 tone lower)

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[F] [Am] [Bb] [F] [Bb] [C] [Dm] [Bbmaj7] [C] [Bb] [C]

[D]
can you hear me
can you see

[F]
Don't you hear me

[G]
don't you see

{C}