verse 1 
C 
I was walking around in Denver 
G            Em 
One luckless rainy day, 
                          C 
When Kilpatrick's mancatcher 
C 
Came up to me and did say 
F 
I'll lay you down five dollars 
C 
Quickly as I can 
                       G 
If you'll hurry up and catch the train, 
                    C 
She's starting from Cheyenne. 


[Refrão]
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
    Bm     C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
A-workin' on the narrow gauge 
    G         C 
Way out in Idaho. 

verse 2 
C 
Well he laid me down five dollars, 
C 
Like many another man, 
C 
And I hurried to the depot 
C 
As happy as a clam 
F 
When I got to Pocatello 
   C 
My troubles begin to grow, 
C 
I was waitin' in the sagebrush 
    G 
The rain, the wind, the snow. 


[Refrão]
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
A-workin' on the narrow gauge 
D          C 
Way out in Idaho. 

verse 3 
C 
When I got to American Falls, 
       Bm          C 
It was there I met Fat Jack, 
C 
He kept a little hotel tent 
C 
Along beside the track. 
F 
Now says he, you are a stranger, 
C 
Perhaps your funds are low, 
C 
Well yonder stands me hotel tent, 
C 
The best in Idaho. 


[Refrão]
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
Bm            C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
A-workin' on the narrow gauge 
G             C 
Way out in Idaho. 

verse 4 
Em 
Well I followed my conductor 
Em 
Into his hotel tent, 
Em 
And for one square and hearty meal, 
Em 
I paid him my last cent. 
F 
Now Jack's a jolly fellow, 
C 
You'll always find him so, 
C 
A-working on the narrow gauge, 
Bm            C 
Way out in Idaho. 


[Refrão]
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
A-workin' on the narrow gauge 
Bm            C 
Way out in Idaho. 

Verse 5 
C 
Well he put me to work next morning 
C 
With a cranky cuss called Bill, 
C 
They gave me a ten pound hammer 
C 
To strike upon the drill 
F 
They said if I didn't like it, 
C 
I could take my shirts and go, 
C 
And they'd keep my blankets for my board 
D             C 
Way out in Idaho. 


[Refrão]
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
A-workin' on the narrow gauge 
Bm            C 
Way out in Idaho. 

Verse 6 
C 
Well it filled my heart with pity, 
     G            Em 
As I walked along the tracks, 
Em 
To see so many old bundlers 
Em 
With their packs upon their backs 
F 
They said the work was heavy, 
C 
The grub they could not go 
C 
Around Kilpatrick's dirty tables 
Bm            C 
Way out in Idaho. 


[Refrão]
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
Way out in Idaho, 
C 
A-workin' on the narrow gauge 
Bm            C 
Way out in Idaho. 

Verse 7 
C 
Well, now I'm well and working 
Bm                  C 
Down in the harvest camps, 
    F            C 
And there I will continue 
C 
Till I make a few more stamps 
Am 
I'll go back to New Mexico, 
C 
Marry a girl I know, 
C 
And we'll buy us a horse and buggy 
       G          C 
And go back to Idaho.