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City of New Orleans [C]Arlo Guthrie / Steve Goodman

Intro
C C C C

Verse 1
C Riding on the G City of New C Orleans,
Am Illinois Central F Monday morning C rail G
C There’s fifteen cars and G fifteen restless Am riders,
F Three conductors and G twenty-five sacks of C mail.

They’re out Am on the southbound odyssey and the Em train pulls out at Kankakee
G Rolls past the houses, farms and D fields.
Am Passin' towns that have no names, Em and freight yards full of old black men
And the G graveyards of the G7 rusted automoCbiles. C7

Chorus
Singing F Good morning G America how C are you?
Am And don't you know me F I'm your native C son G
I'm just the C train they call The G City of New C Orleans, Am
I'll be Bb gone five hundred G miles when the day is C done.

Verse 2
I was dealin' C cards with the G old men in the C club car.
Am And it’s penny a point there ain't F nobody keepin' C score. G
C Won’t you pass that paper G bag that holds the Am bottle
F You can feel the wheels G rumblin' beneath the C floor.

The Am sons of pullman porters and the Em sons of engineers
All ride their G daddy’s magic carpet – it’s made of D steel.
Am Mothers with their babes asleep, go Em rockin' to the gentle beat
And the G rhythm of the G7 rails is all they C dream. C7

Chorus

Verse 3
C It’s night-time on The G City of New C Orleans,
Am And we’re changing cars in F Memphis, Tennes-C-see. G
C Half way home, G we'll be there by Am morning
Through the F Mississippi darkness G rolling to the C sea.

Am All the towns and people seem to Em fade into a bad dream
And the G old steel rails still ain't heard the D news.
The con-Am-ductor sings that song again, the Em passengers will please refrain
G This train has got the G7 disappearing railroad C blues. C7

Chorus
Singing F Good night G America how C are you?
Am And don't you know me F I'm your native C son G
I'm just the C train they call The G City of New C Orleans, Am
I'll be Bb gone five hundred G miles when the day is C done C

Outro
G* C*

3 C 1 2 3 G 2 Am 1 2 F 1 2 3 Em 1 1 1 D 1 2 3 G7 1 C7 1 2 3 Bb