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Steamboat Whistle Blues by John Hartford
Steamboat Whistle Blues
Tuning:E A D G B E
Key:C
Capo:no capo
[Verse 1]
C Am
Well I started out to be a towboat man
G C
But I never got the hang of a ratchet bar
C Am
I was a -growin up a-deckin in the Illinois trade
D G
with coal dust in my ear
C Em
I got stuck in the ice on Christmas Eve
F G
And I froze my ass it's true
C Am
Just a shiv'rin and a-shakin with a Down South case of them
G C
Steamboat whistle blues
C Em F G
Oh Captain Way I'm sorry, my hat is off to you
C Am
You've been a-hanging out by the old cook stove
G C
With the steamboat whistle blues
C Am G C C Am D G C Em F G C Am G C C
[Verse 2]
C Am
Well way up North I called your phone
G C
But I didn't get no one to answer
C Am
So I opened up the window and I smoked a little bit
D G
And I watched the cars go by
C Em
I'm gonna hunt you up and ask you
F G
If you found out anything new
C Am
Or are you a-hangin to the best you had
G C
With the steamboat whistle blues
C Em
I've been right here since nine o'clock
F G
And believe you me that's true
C Am G C
Just a-lookin at the water ways churning with the steamboat whistle blues
C Am G C C Am D G C Em F G C Am G C C
[Verse 3]
C Am
Well the city's growing up where it looks all square
G C
Like a crossword puzzle on the landscape
C Am
It looks like an electric shaver now
D G
Where the courthouse used to be
C Em
The grass is all synthetic
F G
And we don't know for sure about the food
C Am G C
The only thing we know for sure is them steamboat whistle blues
C Em F G
I'd sit and watch my TV if I thought I could trust the news
C Am
About the only thing I trust these days
G C
Is them steamboat whistle blues
C Am G C C Am D G C Em F G C Am G C C
[Verse 4]
C Am
Well "far out" Johnny well I heard him say
G C
As he stretched out back on the water bed
C Am
Bluegrass music is a thing of the past
D G
And the same for rock and roll
C Em
And I loaned him two or three dollars
F G
And he gave me the latest news
C Am
And he left me here with a Rolling Stone
G C
And the steamboat whistle blues
C Em F G
I'll tear off down the river some day before I'm through
C Am
Then come back here and see it out
G C
With the steamboat whistle blues
C Em F G C Am G C C
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