Daddy Whats A Train

Utah Phillips

  • A
  • A7
  • D
  • D7
  • E7
  • G
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Key:
D G Daddy, what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
D E7 A7 Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
D D7 G Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
D A7 D When my little boy asks me, Daddy whats a train? [Verse 1]
D G When I was just a boy living by the track
D E7 A7 Us kids'd gather up the coal in a big ol' big gunny sack,
D D7 G And then we'd hear the warning sound as the train pulled into view
D A7 D D7 And the engineer would smile and wave as she went rolling through; [Bridge 1] (spoken)
G D She blew so loud and clear that we had to cover up our ears
E7 A And we counted cars as high as we could go.
D D7 G I can almost hear the steam and the big old drivers scream
A A7 D With a sound my little boy will never know. [Chorus]
D G Daddy, what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
D E7 A7 Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
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D D7 G Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
D A7 D When my little boy asks me, Daddy whats a train? [Verse 2]
D G I guess the times have changed and kids are different now;
D E7 A7 'Cause some don't even seem to know that milk comes from a cow.
D D7 G My little boy can tell the names of all the baseball stars
D A7 D And I remember how we memorized the names on railroad cars: [Bridge 2] (spoken)
G D The Wabash and TP, Lackawanna and the IC
E7 A Nickel Plate and the good old Santa Fe;
D D7 G Just names out of the past I guess they're fading fast
A A7 Every time I hear my little boy say, [Chorus]
D G Daddy, what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
D E7 A7 Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
D D7 G Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
D A7 D When my little boy asks me, Daddy whats a train? [Verse 3]
D G We climbed into the car and drove down into town
D E7 A7 Right up to the depot house but no one was around.
D D7 G We searched the yard together for something I could show
D A7 D D7 But I knew there hadn't been a train for a dozen years or so. [Bridge 3] (spoken)
G D All the things I did when I was just a kid
E7 A How far away those old memories appear,
D D7 G I guess it's plain to see they still mean a lot to me
D A7 D 'Cause my ambition was to be an engineer. [Chorus]
D G Daddy, what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
D E7 A7 Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
D D7 G Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
D A7 D When my little boy asks me, Daddy whats a train?
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