City of New Orleans - Steve Goodman

INTRO: G	D	G	Em	C	G

VERSE 1
C	      G            C
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Am                F               C        G
Illinois Central, Monday morning rail,
C                G                C
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
 Am                   G                    C
Three conductors, and twenty five sacks of mail.
     Am
All along the southbound odyssey,
    Em
The train pulls out of Kankakee,
    G                                 D
And rolls along the houses, farms and fields.
Am
Passing trains that have no name,
    Em
And freight yards full of old black men,
    G                 G7          C
And graveyards of the rusted automobiles.

CHORUS
F             G7            C
Good morning, America, how are you?
    Am                 F               C      G7  
Say don't you know me, I'm your native son. 
        C                  G            Am      Am7   D7
I'm the train thy call the City of New Orleans 
         Eb       F       G                     C
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.

VERSE 2
C	              G                      C
Dealing card games with the old men in the club cars,
Am                     F               C        G
A penny a point, ain't no one keeping score.
C              G                    C
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle,
    Am                 G                  C
And feel the wheels rumbling 'neath the floor.

        Am
And the sons of Pullman porters,
        Em
And the sons of engineers,
G                                         D
Ride their fathers' magic carpet made of steel.
Am
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Em
Rocking to the gentle beat,
       G                       G7        C
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.

CHORUS

VERSE 3:
C                G            C
Nighttime on the City of New Orleans,
Am            F                C        G
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennesee.
C                G                   C
Halfway home, and we'll be there by morning,
            Am                    G                   C
Through the Misissippi darkness, rolling down to the sea.
   Am
But all the towns and people seem
   Em
To fade into a bad dream,
G                                    D
The steel rail still ain't heard the news.
       Am
The conductor sings his songs again,
    Em
The passengers will please refrain,
G                                  G7        C
This train's got the disappearin' railroad blues.


CHORUS with TAG