Sixteen Tons Chords

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Difficulty:	beginner
Tuning:	E A D G B E
Key:	Bm
Capo:	2nd fret

Author JckMonroe [a] 91.

6 contributors total, last edit on Jan 27, 2025

We have an official Sixteen Tons tab made by UG professional guitarists.

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[Intro & Riff]
 
e|------------------------|------------------|
B|------------------------|------------------|
G|-2----------------------|------------------|
D|-------2----------------|------------------|
A|-------------3-----0----|------------0-----|
E|------------------------|-0---2-4----------|
 
[Verse 1]
     Am                   F          E
Some people say a man is made outta mud
  Am         G          F           E
A poor man's made outta muscle 'n blood...
Am         G          Dm
Muscle an' blood an' skin an' bone
  Am                     E           Am
A mind that's weak and a back that's strong
 
[Chorus]
Am               G        F        E
You load sixteen tons an' whaddya get?
Am          G         F          E
Another day older an' deeper in debt
       Am          G              Dm
Saint Peter doncha call me 'cause I can't go
Am                   E       Am
I owe my soul to the company store
 
[Riff]
 
[Verse 2]
Am             G                F            E
I was born one mornin' when the sun didn't shine
Am            G            F             E
Picked up my shovel and I walked to the mine
Am             G        Dm
Loaded sixteen tons of number nine coal
        Am                     E        Am
And the strawboss said, "Well, bless my soul!"
 
[Chorus]
Am               G        F        E
You load sixteen tons an' whaddya get?
Am          G         F          E
Another day older an' deeper in debt
       Am          G              Dm
Saint Peter doncha call me 'cause I can't go
Am                   E       Am
I owe my soul to the company store
 
[Riff]
 
[Verse 3]
Am             G               F         E
I was born one morning in the drizzlin' rain
Am           G           F         E
Fightin' and trouble are my middle name
Am    G                              Dm
I was raised in the canebreak by an' ol' mama lion
         Am                       E        Am
Ain't no high-tone woman make me walk the line.
 
[Chorus]
Am               G        F        E
You load sixteen tons an' whaddya get?
Am          G         F          E
Another day older an' deeper in debt
       Am          G              Dm
Saint Peter doncha call me 'cause I can't go
Am                   E       Am
I owe my soul to the company store
 
[Riff]
 
[Verse 4]
Am           G             F       E
If ya see me comin' better step aside
Am          G          F         E
A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died
Am                         Dm
With one fist of iron, the other of steel
       Am                             E         Am
If the right one don' getcha then the left one will.
 
[Chorus]
Am               G        F        E
You load sixteen tons an' whaddya get?
Am          G         F          E
Another day older an' deeper in debt
       Am          G              Dm
Saint Peter doncha call me 'cause I can't go
Am                   E       Am
I owe my soul to the company store
 
[Riff]
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Sixteen Tons – Tennessee Ernie Ford

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"Sixteen Tons"

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9 comments

Great tab! I prefer this one on Capo 3. Also, at the end of some lines like “saint peter don’t you call me cause I can’t go” it has the last chord going from Dm to F; I think it sounds better when you just hold it on Dm. Those are my personal preferences.

Thanks for sharing. Excellent chord arrangement.

I sure wish guitar tab would move the words over a half inch. Than one can punch holes to put into a binder