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Choppin' Wood Lyrics
You wired the trains and went back home to St. Claire's shores
Before you became a spark down at the yard
You were passing through those hungry years alone
You were just trying to make a living out in Detroit
When you came back off the boats you didn't want to go anywhere
You sit down to TV in your favorite chair
You watch the big picture fade away down at Harland and Wolff
But you still kept on choppin' wood
And you came back home to Belfast
So you could be with us like
You lived your life of quiet desperation on the side
Going to the shipyard in the morning on your bike
Well the spark was gone but you carried on
You always did the best you could
You sent for us once but everything fell through
But you still kept on choppin' wood choppin' wood
Well you came back home to Belfast
So you could be with us like
And you lived a life of quiet desperation on the side
Going to the shipyard in the morning on your bike
Well the spark was gone but you carried on
Well you did just the best that you could
You sent for us one time but everything fell through
But you still kept on choppin' wood
Kept on choppin'wood
Kept on choppin' wood
Local man chops wood
You know you did the best you could
Well everything just fell through
Kept on choppin' wood
Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop,
Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop,
Chop, chop, chop, keep on choppin'
Chop, chop, chop, choppin' wood
Before you became a spark down at the yard
You were passing through those hungry years alone
You were just trying to make a living out in Detroit
You sit down to TV in your favorite chair
You watch the big picture fade away down at Harland and Wolff
But you still kept on choppin' wood
So you could be with us like
You lived your life of quiet desperation on the side
Going to the shipyard in the morning on your bike
You always did the best you could
You sent for us once but everything fell through
But you still kept on choppin' wood choppin' wood
So you could be with us like
And you lived a life of quiet desperation on the side
Going to the shipyard in the morning on your bike
Well you did just the best that you could
You sent for us one time but everything fell through
But you still kept on choppin' wood
Kept on choppin' wood
Local man chops wood
You know you did the best you could
Kept on choppin' wood
Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop,
Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop,
Chop, chop, chop, keep on choppin'
Chop, chop, chop, choppin' wood
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This is clearly biographical and focussed on his late father George who worked in the Belfast shipyard and covers a journey to the United States to start a new life which didn't really work out. Whether he chopped wood as a sideline to the day job - who knows. Van showed a deep respect for his dad and as the song says about him, "you did just the best that you could". I think he died around 1989. Another Van song, "Memories" was allegedly about his father but that is pure speculation.
@robertcousins I love this rare Van bit of family autobiography - Choppin' Wood refers to playing music/jamming (?)
@robertcousins I love this rare Van bit of family autobiography - Choppin' Wood refers to playing music/jamming (?)