City Of New Orleans Chords

by Arlo Guthrie
628,472 views, added to favorites 21,201 times
Difficulty: advanced
Tuning: E A D G B E
Key: F#
Capo: 4th fret
Author Pencom [a] 30,856.
5 contributors total, last edit on Aug 7, 2024
We have an official City Of New Orleans tab made by UG professional guitarists.
Check out the tab

Chords

D
A
Bm
G
F#m
E
A7
E7
C
B
C#m
Gm
F#
F#7
B7
F
Dm
Bb
Am
Eb
G7
C7

Strumming

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City of New Orleans chords
Arlo Guthrie 1972 (Steve Goodman)
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_New_Orleans_(song)  ***
 
Capo IV **
 
[Intro]
 
D
 
[Verse 1]
 
D             A       D
Riding on the City of New Orleans
Bm                G              D    A
Illinois Central, Monday morning rail
D                A                D
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Bm                   A                    D
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
 
     Bm                                F#m
All along the south bound odyssey, the train pulls out of Kankakee
A                                  E
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields
Bm                                F#m
Passing trains that have no name, freight yards full of old black men
        A                 A7           D
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles.
 
[Chorus]
 
G             A           D
Good morning America, how are you?                                                       
     Bm                 G               D
Say, don't you know me, I'm your native son.
A7        D                   A       Bm         E7
I'm the   train they call the City of New Orleans
        C         G*      A              A7     D
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
 
[Verse 2]
 
        D                   A              D
Dealing card games with the old men in the club car
Bm                   G              D    A
Penny a point, ain't no one keeping score
D                       A         D
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Bm              A                   D
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor
 
        Bm                              F#m
And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers
A                                         E
Ride their fathers' magic carpets made of steel
Bm                               F#m
Mothers with their babes asleep, rockin' to the gentle beat
        A             A7                D
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.
 
[Chorus]
 
G             A           D
Good morning America, how are you?                                                       
     Bm                 G               D
Say, don't you know me, I'm your native son.
A7        D                   A       Bm         E7
I'm the   train they call the City of New Orleans
        C         G       A              A7     D
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
 
[Verse 3]
 
D                 A       D
Night time on the City of New Orleans
Bm               G              D   A
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee
D             A                 D
Halfway home, we'll be there by morning
            Bm                   A                   D
through the Mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea.
 
    Bm                               F#m
But all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream
        A                                E
And the steel rail still ain't heard the news
    Bm                                   F#m
The conductor sings his songs again, the passengers will please refrain
     A                  A7               D
This train got the disappearing railroad blues.
 
[Chorus]
 
G            A          D
Good night America, how are you?                                                       
     Bm                 G               D
Say, don't you know me, I'm your native son.
A7        D                   A       Bm         E7
I'm the   train they call the City of New Orleans
        C         G       A              A7     D
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
 
* It has been suggested that G/B is more correct
 
*** This version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF1lqEQFVUo
 
** Alternates:
 
Capo II
 
D   = E
A   = B
Bm  = C#m
G   = A
F#m = Gm
C   = D
E   = F#
E7  = F#7
A7  = B7
 
Capo I
 
D   = F
A   = C
Bm  = Dm
G   = Bb
F#m = Am
C   = Eb
E   = G
A   = C
E7  = G7
A7  = C7
 
Set8
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City Of New Orleans – Arlo Guthrie
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40 comments
retro1958
sounds great with no capo too!
+8
jung3lape
Thank you for this tab! :)
+3
imsharris
Agree that the song works great without a capo as well. Definitely a song where the fingerpicking or a very simple strum both sound great. The beauty seems to be in the lyrics and the simplicity of the chords. Just a great song!
+3