verse 1: 

E                                  A                 E 
From Maine to San Francisco, for years, I rode the rails 

E                                           A                   E 
Coast to coast, and border to border, I've been in about every jail  

C                                     G 
One night around the Golden Gate, I caught a freight, and layin' in the bottom of the boxcar was a man 

                  E 
Named Billy Jack Washburn  

                                                                    
Through the rain and the wind the train was flyin', I knew the man was layin' there dyin'  

C                                  G                                   D 
I had to try and save a man, with nothin' but my two bare hands and I did 


He was just a kid  


verse 2: 

E                               A                       E 
Now me and Billy Jack, we laid around a few hobo camps for awhile  

E                                                A                          E 
'Til Billy Jack got his strength back, and the sunshine gave him back his smile  

C                               G                                   D 
We decided we would leave, and head on down to New Orleans, and we did 


Me and the kid  


But things weren't like they were before, I never had a friend jumpin' from the door 

G                                                                           D 
I treated him like I was his dad, and gave him everything I had, which was nothin'  

C                                                        D 
Just the love for a friend, and a friend he was, 'til I lost him 


Bridge:  

Bm                   A 
Billy Jack Washburn was his name 

G                                             D 
I lost him down around Jacksonville, when he fell from the train 

Bm                   A 
I rolled off, and I hit the ground 

G                                     D 
I picked his body up and carried him all the way back to town 

C                  D 
He was a friend of mine  


verse 3:  

E                                A                               E 
Now here I am, in Macon, Georgia, to help lay Billy Jack in the ground 

E                              A           E 
And by the way, Macon, Georgia, is my hometown 

C                                 G                                 D 
When I picked his billfold up, I saw a picture of his mama and her name 


And I cried like a baby 

C                                    D 
'Cuz his mama, and my mama were the same 

G                                                  C                                  D                 
Well I haven't been home in twenty-six years, and when I do come home, it has to be like this 

G                             C                D 
Sometimes old lady fate, she deals a terrible kiss  


Bridge 2:  

Bm                           A 
Billy Jack Washburn was his so-called name 

G                                             D 
I lost him down around Jacksonville, when he fell from the train 

C                       G 
But I lost more than a friend 

C                          D 
I'll never see my brother again