[Intro] D,D9
[verse 1]
Bm
When I was a boy
G D
In the days of the train
Bm
I'd sit by the tracks
A
On a long summer day
G
And I'd wave to the brakeman
D
And he'd wave back at me
Bm A
While the thunderclouds rolled
D
Out of east Tennessee
[verse 2]
Bm
But the dreams of a boy
G D
Disappear when you're grown
Bm
And though I may dream
A
The railroads are gone
G
The ties they are rotten
D
And the tracks shot to hell
Bm A
Along with my dreams
D G D
And the old railroad bell
[chorus]
G A D
In my dreams I ride the rails to California
G A D
Working dinners and farms along the way
G A D
Or I'd hop a ride to hide across the border
G A D
With a black eyed girl beside all the way
[verse 3]
Bm
Now the mountains are silent
G D
And the railroads are gone
Bm
And the coal towns no longer
A
Hear the miners at dawn
G
But the train whistle shrills
D
Out her memories to me
Bm A
While the thunderclouds rolled
D
Out of east Tennessee
[chorus]
[verse 3]
