City Of New Orleans chords
by Willie NelsonSong Key: D Major
Time Signature: 4/4 (♩)
Tempo: 150 bpm
Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e
Skill Level: Beginner 🟢
Guitar Chords: D, A, Bm, G, F#m, E, A7, C, Bm/A, E/G#
Arrangement details and helpful tips for beginners
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
City Of New Orleans
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
D
Intro: 4/4 ‖ | % | % | % ‖
D A D
1. Ri-din' on the ci-ty of New Or-leans,
Bm G D
Ill-i-nois Cen-tral, Mon-day mor-ning rail
A D
Fif-teen cars and fif-teen rest-less ri-ders,
Bm A D
Three con-duc-tors and twen-ty-five sacks of mail.
Bm
Pre Chorus 1: All a-long the south-bound od-ys-sey,
F#m
The train pulls out at Kank-a-kee
A E
And rolls a-long past hou-ses, farms and fields.
Bm
Pas-sin' trains that have no name
F#m
And freight yards full of old black men,
A A7 D
And the grave-yards of the rus-ted au-to-mo-biles.
G A D
Chorus Good mor-ning A-me-ri-ca how are ya?
Bm G D
Say, don't you know me? I'm your na-tive son,
A D A Bm Bm/E E7/G#
I'm the train they call the Ci-ty of New | Or-leans, | |
C G A D
And I'll be gone five hun-dred miles when the day is | done.| % | % | % |
D A D
2. Deal-in' cards with the old man in the club car,
Bm G D
Pen-ny a point, ain't no one keep-in' score.
A D
Pass the pa-per bag that holds the bottle
Bm A D
Feel the wheels rumb-lin' 'neath the floor.| % |
Bm
Pre Chorus 2: And the sons of Pull-man por-ters and
F#m
The sons of en-gi-neers
A E
Ride their fa-ther's ma-gic ca-rpets made of steel
Bm
Mo-thers with their babes asleep,
F#m
Rock-in' to the gentle beat
A A7 D
And the rhy-thm of the rails is all they feel| % |
G A D
Chorus Good mor-ning A-me-ri-ca how are ya?
Bm G D
Say, don't you know me? I'm your na-tive son,
A D A Bm Bm/E E7/G#
I'm the train they call the Ci-ty of New Or - or - leans,
C G A D
And I'll be gone five hun-dred miles when the day is done.| % |
Instrumental: Repeat Chorus
D A D
3. Night-time on the Ci-ty of New Or-leans,
Bm G D
Chang-in' cars in Mem-phis, Ten-nes-see.
A D
Half-way home, we'll be there by mor-nin',
Bm A D
Through the Mis-sis-sip-pi darkness rol-lin' down to the sea.| % |
Bm
Pre Chorus 3: But all the towns and people seem
F#m
To fade into a bad dream
A E
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news.
Bm
The con-duc-tor sings his songs a-gain,
F#m
The pas-sen-gers will please re-frain
A A7 D
This train has got the dis-ap-pea-rin' rail-road blues.| % |
G A D
Chorus Good mor-ning A-me-ri-ca how are ya?
Bm G D
Say, don't you know me? I'm your na-tive son,
A D A Bm Bm/E E7/G#
I'm the train they call the Ci-ty of New Or - or - leans,
C G A D
And I'll be gone five hun-dred miles when the day is done.| % |
Outro Instrumental: Repeat Verse and fade Arrangement Details:
- Key Signature: D Major - 2 sharps (F#, C#)
- Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
- Tempo: Moderately fast
- Metronome: ♩ = 150
- Voice Range: D4 - D5
- Beginner Guitarists: Although this song includes slash chords and potential barre chords in Bm and F#m, we have included an open voicing for Bm and a small barre for F#m which is very easy to play.
You don't have to include the slash chords Bm/A and E/G#— just play them as Bm and E, but they do add interest to the song.
If you can't play barre chords, an easy workaround from Bm to Bm/A is to play the open Bm chord with your first finger on the B note (fret 2, string 5) and avoid playing the 1st string:
Bm: B-D-F# 🎸 Frets Notes Fingers e|---X--- B|---3--- ← D 2nd G|---4--- ← B 4th D|---4--- ← F# 3rd A|---2--- ← B 1st E|---X---
When you play Bm/A, simply play the 5th string open(A) while placing your first finger back to the first string playing the open Bm chord as normal.
Bm/A: A-B-D-F# 🎸 Frets Notes Fingers e|---2--- ← F# 1st B|---3--- ← D 2nd G|---4--- ← B 4th D|---4--- ← F# 3rd A|---0--- ← A E|---X---
Song Details:
- Songwriter: Steve Goodman
- Lyrics Begin: Ridin' on the City of New Orleans,
- Genre: Country
- Featured Artist: Willie Nelson
- Album: City of New Orleans
Recorded: January - April, 1984
Released: April 1984 - Single:
Recorded: October 1983
Released: July 1984
B-side: Why Are You Pickin' on Me
