G                 G6             D              G
Dear Sir, I write this note to you to tell you of me plight
    C              G             A7           D
And at the time of writing, I am not a pretty sight;
   C           G                  D              Em
My body is all black and blue, my face a deathly gray
      G                  Em              D7          G
And I write this note to say why Paddy's not at work today

[Verse 2]
      G              G6                    D               G
While working on the fourteenth floor some bricks I had to clear;
        C                    G                 A7          D
Now, to throw them down from such a height was not a good idea
    C              G                D                Em
The foreman wasn't very pleased, he being an awkward sod
   G                Em                 D7            G
He said I'd have to cart them down the ladders in me hod

[Verse 3]
     G                  G6                D           G
Now, clearing all these bricks by hand it was so very slow
     C            G            A7               D
So I hoisted up a barrel and secured the rope below
    C              G            D               Em
But in me haste to do the job I was to blind to see
       G            Em                  D7           G
That a barrelful of building bricks was heavier than me

[Verse 4]
G           G6                D                G
So when I untied the rope the barrel fell like lead
    C                G             A7           D
And clinging tightly to the rope I started up instead
        C              G              D           Em
Well, I shot up like a rocket till to my dismay I found
     G            Em             D7             G
That halfway up I met the bloody barrel comming down

[Verse 5]
          G               G6          D                G
Well, the barrel broke me shoulder as to the ground it sped
    C                  G                A7            D
And when I reached the top I banged the pully with my head
        C                      G                 D             Em
Well, I clung on tight through numbed shock from this almighty blow
        G                  Em              D7                G
And the barrel spilled out half the bricks fourteen floors below

[Verse 6]
     G                     G6              D             G
Now, when these bricks had fallen from the barrel to the floor
  C                   G             A7                D
I then outweighed the barrel and so started down once more;
      C                G              D                Em
Still clinging tightly to the rope, I sped towards the ground
      G             Em                  D7                 G
And I landed on the brocken bricks that were all scattered round

[Verse 7]
        G                  G6               D                      G
Well, I lay there groaning on the ground, I thought I'd passed the worst
         C              G                A7             D
When the barrel hit the pully-wheel and then the bottom burst
        C                       G             D            Em
Well, a shower of bricks rained down on me, I hadn't got a hope
     G                 Em                   D7               G
As I lay there moaning on the ground, I let go of the bloody rope

[Verse 8]
    G                 G6          D                 G
The barrel than being heavier, it started down once more
    C              G             A7           D
And landed right across me, as I lay upon the floor
         C                    G               D          Em
Well, it broke three ribs and my left arm and I can only say
       G                Em                D7            G
That I hope you'll understand why Paddy's not at work today