Rock Island Line

ROCK ISLAND LINE
By Lonnie Donegan
Johnny Cash, Leadbelly,
Johnny Horton
Key: Bb

-6   7  -7*  -7*  7   -7*
Oh, the Rock Is-land Line 
-7*-7*-7*  -9 -9  -7*  -9
It  is a might-y good road
-6   7  -7*  -7*  7   -7* 
Oh, the Rock Is-land Line 
-7*-7*-7*  8   7*  -6
It is the road to ride
7   -7* -7*   7  -7*
The Rock Is-land Line 
-7*-7*-7* -9  -9  -7*  -9
It  is a might-y good road
-7*  -7* 7   -7* 7   -7*  8  -7* 7   -7* 8
Well if you want to ride you got to ride it 
-7*   7   -7* 8   -7*   7  -7*  8
like you find it, get your tic-ket
-7* 7   8  -7*   7   -6  -7*  7  -6  -3*
At the sta-tion for the Rock Is-land Line
-6    -7* -7*-7*-7*  -9   -7*   -7*  -9
It’s cloud-y in the west looks like rain
-6     -6 -6 7   7  7 -6  7*   7*   -6
Bought me a tick-et on a rail-road train
8     8  8  -7  -7  8   8   8  8  -7-6
Pour on the wat-er shov-el on the coal
-6     -6   -6   -6  -6 -6   -6
Stick your head out the win-dow
 7   -6  -7* -6   -3*
See the driv-ers roll
-6   -6   7   -7* -7*  7   -7*
Oh, well the Rock Is-land Line…

REPEAT


(Spoken at beginning)

Now this here's a story about the Rock Island Line
Well the Rock Island Line she runs down into New Orleans
There's a big tollgate down there and you know
If you got certain things on board when you go through the tollgate
Well you don't have to pay the man no toll
Well a train driver he pulled up to the tollgate
And a man hollered and asked him what all he had on board and said
I got livestock I got livestock I got cows I got pigs I got sheep
I got mules I got all livestock
Well he said you're all right boy you don't have to pay no toll
You can just go right on through so he went on through the toolgate
And as he went through he started pickin' up a little bit of speed
Pickin' up a little bit of steam
He got on through he turned and looked back at the man he said
Well I fooled you I fooled you I got pigiron I got pigiron I got old
pigiron