D            G                      D 
When I was a boy in the days of the train 
               Bm                      A 
I'd sit by the tracks on a long summer day 
                    G                                D 
And I'd wave at the brakesman, And he'd wave back at me 
                        Bm      A                   D           
While the thunderclouds rolled...   Out of East Tennessee 

D            G                                D 
But the dreams of a boy disappear when you're grown 
                  Bm                       A 
And though I may dream, the railroads are gone 
                  G                              D 
The ties they are rotten And the tracks shot to hell 
               Bm     A                       D       
Along with my dreams... and the old railroad bell 

D      G                A            D 
In my dreams I ride the rails to California 
         G         A               D 
Workin' diners 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 me all the way 

D                      G                            D 
Now the mountains are silent And the railroads are gone 
                      Bm                         A 
And the coal towns no longer hear the miners at dawn 
                      G                            D 
But the train whistle shrills out her memories to me 
                        Bm      A                   D       
While the thunderclouds roll...  out of East Tennessee 

D      G                A            D 
In my dreams I ride the rails to California 
         G         A               D 
Workin' diners 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 me all the way 

D                      G                            D 
Now the mountains are silent And the railroads are gone 
                      Bm                         A 
And the coal towns no longer hear the miners at dawn 
                      G                            D 
But the train whistle shrills out her memories to me 
                        Bm      A                   D       
While the thunderclouds roll...  out of East Tennessee