G                D             G            C
From the land of shooting waters to the peaks of the Coeur d'Alêne
       D                          G              D
Thimbleberries in the forest, elk grazing on the plain
    G             D                 G              C
The People of the Coyote made their camp along the streams
       C             G           C      D      G
Of the green Wallowa Valley when fences had no name

         D                            C               G
And they bred a strain of horses, the treasure of the tribe
          D                              C            D
Who could toe-dance on a ridge or gallop up a mountainside
          G                 D              C       G
Who could haul the hunter's burden, turn a buffalo stampede
    C                   G                C         D         G
The horse that wore the spotted coat was born with matchless speed

[Chorus]
Bm  D
        C              G
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
         C                 D     D    C
Lead the People across the Great Divide
        G                        C        G
There's blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
        C            D               G     G C C Am Em D x2
But the heart of the Appaloosa never died

[Verse 2]
       G               D                 G             C
In the winter came the crowned ones near frozen in the cold
         D                             G                   D
Bringing firearms and spyglasses and a book that saves the soul
    G                D                    G                   C
The people gave them welcome, nursed them till their strength returned
    C                   G          C     D      G
And studied the talking paper, its mysteries to learn

       D                               C                  G
In the shadow of the mission sprang up farms and squatter towns
    D                                C                    D
The plain was lined with fences, the plow blade split the ground
       D               G               C                G
In the shallows of the Clearwater gold glittered in the pan
        C                    G           C          D    G
And the word would come from Washington: remove the Indian

[Chorus]
Bm  D
        C              G
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
         C                 D     D    C
Lead the People across the Great Divide
        G                        C        G
There's blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
        C            D               G     G C C Am Em D 
But the heart of the Appaloosa never died

[Verse 3]
    G                  D             G             C
The chief spoke to the People in his anger and his pain
   D                                G             D
"I am no more Chief Joseph. Rolling Thunder is my name.
     G               D            G               C
They condemn us to a wasteland of barren soil and stone
    C                     G                 C    D       G
We shall fight them if we must, but we will find another home."

     D                            C             G
They fled into the Bitterroot, an army at their heels
     D                                 C                D
They fought at White Bird Canyon, they fought at Misery Hill
         D               G            C              G
Till the colonel saw his strategy and sent the order down
   C            G     C           D  G
To kill the Appaloosa wherever it be found

[Chorus]
Bm  D
        C              G
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
         C                 D     D    C
Lead the People across the Great Divide
        G                        C        G
There's blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
        C            D               G     G C C Am Em D 
But the heart of the Appaloosa never died

[Verse 4]
       G             D                       G        C
Twelve hundred miles retreating, three times over the Divide
    D                              G    D
The horse their only safety, their only ally
      G             D    G                 C
Three thousand Appaloosa perished with the tribe
    C              G      C    D       G
The people and the horses died side by side

        D                                  C                 G   
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains said, "my heart is sick and sad.
    D                              C              D
Our children now are freezing. The old chiefs are dead.
    D               G           C                   G
The hunger take our spirit. Our wounds are deep and sore.
     C                 G      C             D  G
From where the sun now stands I shall fight no more."

[Chorus]
Bm  D
        C              G
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
         C                 D     D    C
Lead the People across the Great Divide
        G                        C        G
There's blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
        C            D               G     G C C Am Em D 
But the heart of the Appaloosa never died

[Break Strain] 
          G            D    G           C
They were sent to Oklahoma, malaria ran rife
         D                                  G                   D
But more died of broken hearts far from the land that gave them life
        G                D        G                  C
And the man once called Joseph at death was heard to say
         C            G       C         D    G
"We have given up our horses. They have gone away."

    D*                               C             G                                                 
But sometimes without warning from a dull domestic herd
   D*                     C             D
A spotted horse of spirit wondrous will emerge
D*               G            C           G
Strong it is and fearless and nimble on a hill
C*            G*                C      D      G 
Listening for thunder, the Appaloosa's living still

[Chorus]
Bm  D
        C              G
Thunder Rolling in the Mountains
         C                 D     D    C
Lead the People across the Great Divide
        G                        C        G
There's blood on the snow in the hills of Idaho
        C            D               G     G C C Am Em D 
But the heart of the Appaloosa never died