City of New Orleans Chords by Steve Goodman

[Start]

[Verse]
C                                
Riding on the city of New Orleans
Am          F              C           
■  Illinois Central Monday morning rail
                  G                C              
There are fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Am                              C            
Three conductors and twentyfive sacks of mail
Am                                       
They're all out on the southbound odyssey
Em                         G       
And the train pulls out of Kankakee
                      D               
Rolls past the houses farms and fields


[Chorus]
Am                             
Passin' towns that have no name
Em                                     
And freight yards full of old black men
G                            C          
And the graveyards of rusted automobiles
F                            C         
Singin' Good morning America how are ya
Am                   F           C      G  
Sayin' Don't ya know me I'm your native son
    C                  G7               C          
Yes I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
    Am                F                      C      
And I'll be gone five hundred miles when day is done


[Verse]
    C                                                   
And I was dealing cards with the old men in the club car
Am                     F                  C       G    
And it's penny a point there ain't no one keeping score
         C            G                    C          
Oh won't ya past that paper bag that holds that bottle
Am               G                        C        
You can feel the wheels grumblin' through the floor
Am                              Em                   
And the sons of Pullman porters the sons of engineers


[Chorus]
     G                                D7           
They ride their father's magic carpet made of steel
Am                               
And mothers with the babes asleep
Em                           
Go rockin' to the gentle beat
G                              C         
The rhythm of the rails is all they dream
     F                             C         
Just asingin' Good morning America how are ya
Am              F                C         
Sayin' Don't ya know me I'm your native son
        C                                          
And I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
F                                     C    F G
I'll be gone five hundred when day is done ■ ■


[Verse]
C           G              C          
■ Nighttime on the City of New Orleans
Am            F          C         G
Changing cars in Memphis Tennessee ■
C            G                       C         
It's halfway home and we'll be there by morning
Am                      G                   C      
Through the Mississippi darkness rollin' to the sea
Am                          
And all the towns and people
     Em                           
They seem to fade into a bad dream
G                                      D    D7
The old steel rails it ain't heard the news ■ 


[Chorus]
Am                                
The conductor sings his song again
Em                              
Its passengers'll please refrain
G                                 C             
This train's got the disappearing railroad blues
     F                          C         
Just asingin' Goodnight America how are ya
Am              F                C         
Sayin' Don't ya know me I'm your native son
                       G                C          
And I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
F                 G                          C      
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
     F                          C         
Just asingin' Goodnight America how are ya
Am                   F           C      G  
Sayin' Don't ya know me I'm your native son
         C              G                C          
Well I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
F                                          Bb C   
And I'll be gone a long long time when day is done


[End]