Tom Joad - Springsteen

**Capo 2nd fret**  (All chords relative to capo)

 

 

[Intro]

 

(Studio Version): Am

Intro W/Harmonica*: Am F C C/B Am G Am

 

*Some live versions and his recording for "The People Speak"

 

 

[Verse]

 

Am                     Am/G   Am

Man walkin‘ long the railroad tracks

C                                 G

Goin‘ some place there’s no going back

Highway patrol choppers comin‘ up over the ridge

    Am                  Am/G      Am

Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge

                        Am/G      Am

Shelter line stretchin‘ round the corner

C                        G

Welcome to the new world order

Families sleepin‘ in their cars in the Southwest

Am                Am/G     Am

No home no job no peace no rest

 

 

[Chorus]

 

F

The highway is alive tonight

             C                    C/B      Am

But nobody’s kiddin‘ nobody about where it goes

G

I’m sittin‘ down here in the campfire light

Am                Am/G         Am

Searchin‘ for the ghost of Tom Joad

 

 

[Verse]

 

Am                     Am/G   Am

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag

C                                 G

Preacher lights up a butt and talks a drag

Waitin‘ for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last

    Am                  Am/G      Am

In a cardboard box neath the underpass

                        Am/G      Am

Got a one-way ticket to the promised land

C                        G

You got hole in your belly and a gun in your hand

Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock

Am                Am/G     Am

Bathin‘ in the city aquaeduct

 

 

[Chorus]

 

F

The highway is alive tonight

             C                    C/B      Am

Where it’s headed everybody knows

G

I’m sittin‘ down here in the campfire light

Am                Am/G         Am

Waitin' on the ghost of Tom Joad

 

 

[Harmonica Break]

 

F  C  C/B  Am  G  Am

 

 

[Verse]

 

Am                     Am/G   Am

Now Tom said: "Mom, wherever there’s cop beatin‘ a guy

C                                 G

Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries

Where there’s a fight gainst blood and hatred in the air

    Am                  Am/G      Am

Look for me Mom I’ll be there

                        Am/G      Am

Wherever there’s somebody fightin‘ for a place to stand

C                        G

Or decent job or helping hand

Wherever somebody’s strugglin‘ to be free

Am                Am/G     Am

Look in their eyes Mom you’ll see me"

 

 

[Chorus]

 

F

Well the highway is alive tonight

             C                    C/B      Am

But nobody’s kiddin‘ nobody about where it goes

G

I’m sittin‘ down here in the campfire light

Am                Am/G         Am

With the ghost of old Tom Joad

 

 

 

[Outro]

 

F C C/B Am G Am x2

Last time: Am Am/G Am

The River Springsteen

[Intro]

 

 Em  G  D  C  Am  G  C  C

 

C

e|--------------------------------------------|

B|--------------12-10-8------12-10-8-10-------|

G|-9--8-9-11-12---------8b--------------8b----|

D|--------------------------------------------|

A|--------------------------------------------|

E|--------------------------------------------|

 

 

[Verse]

 

  Em                     G              D                   C

I come from down in the valley   Where mister, when you're young

       Em             G  C               G

They bring you up to do like your daddy done

        C                                 G           D    Em

Me and Mary we met in high school  When she was just seventeen

      Am                                G                     C

We'd drive out of this valley down to where the fields were green

 

 

[Chorus]

 

         Em          C        D                    G

We'd go down to the river And into the river we'd dive

    Em          C          D  C

Oh down to the river we’d ride

 

 

[Verse]

 

    Em                G       D                      C

Then I got Mary pregnant  And man, that was all she wrote

    Em           G                      C                  G

And for my 19th birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat

    C                                    G           D       Em

We went down to the courthouse  And the judge put it all to rest

    Am

No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle

     G                   C

No flowers, no wedding dress

 

 

[Chorus]

 

                   Em          C

That night we went down to the river

    D                    G

And into the river we'd dive

    Em          C            D   C

Oh down to the river we did ride

 

 

[Solo]

 

(backing chords for the solo are the same as the verses)

||  Em |  G  |  D  |  C  ||

||  Em |  G  |  C  |  G  ||

||  C  |  C  | G D |  Em ||

||  Am |  Am |  G  |  C  ||

 

 

e|-------------------------------------10-10--12--10-12-10--12--10-12-10-------------------|

B|--------------12-10-8------12--12-12------------------------------------12--12-10-8------|

G|-9--8-9-11-12---------8b------------------------------------------------------------8b---|

D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

 

e|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

B|-12--10-10--8-10-8-----------------------------------------------------------------------|

G|-------------------8b---7-7-12-11-8b-----------------------------------------------------|

D|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

A|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

E|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

 

 

[Verse]

 

  Em                     G               D               C

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company

     Em                      G              C                 G

But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy

    C

Now all them things that seemed so important

              G                 D            Em

Well mister they vanished right into the air

           Am                               G                    C

Now I just act like I don't remember   Mary acts like she don't care

 

 

[Bridge]

 

         Em                      G                       D

But I remember us riding in my brother's car   Her body tan and wet down at

     C               Em                      G

the reservoir    At night on them banks I'd lie awake

               C                      G

And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take

           C

Now those memories come back to haunt me

      G        D      Em

They haunt me like a curse

       Am                                    G                C

Is a dream a lie if it don't come true    Or is it something worse

 

 

[Chorus]

 

               Em          C                 D                G

That sends me down to the river   Though I know the river is dry

               Em          C       D   C

That sends me down to the river tonight

 Em          C        D       G

Down to the river my baby and I

    Em          C        D  C

Oh down to the river we ride     Ooh..

 

 

[Outro]

 

Em  C  D  G       Em  C

C

Atlantic City Springsteen

[Verse]
 
           Em        G                C           G
Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night
         Em         G                 C           G
Now, they blew up his house, too
           Em           G                  C      G
Down on the boardwalk they're gettin' ready for a fight
     Em        G                    C             G
Gonna see what them racket boys can do
             Em         G            C     G
Now, there's trouble bustin' in from outta state
       Em        G           C            G
And the D.A. can't get no relief
          Em     G          C             G
Gonna be a rumble out on the promenade
        Em            G                        C           D
And the gamblin' commission's hangin' on by the skin of his teeth
 
 
[Chorus]
 
         Em     G                C        G
Well now, ev'rything dies, baby, that's a fact
          Em           G           D         Em
But maybe ev'rything that dies someday comes back
                G            C       G
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
    Em       G           C       G
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
 
 
[Verse]
 
       Em      G                   C          G
Well, I got a job and tried to put my money away
            Em           G     C          G
But I got debts that no honest man can pay
      Em           G          C         G
So I drew what I had from the Central Trust
      Em               G            C          D
And I bought us two tickets on that Coast City bus
 
 
[Chorus]
 
         Em     G                C        G
Well now, ev'rything dies, baby, that's a fact
          Em           G           D         Em
But maybe ev'rything that dies someday comes back
                G            C       G
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
    Em       G           C       G
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City
 
 
[Bridge]
 
D      C                          Em
Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold
   C         D            Em
But with you forever I'll stay
      C                         Em
We're goin' out where the sand's turnin' to gold
C      G                          C            G
Put on your stockin's baby, `cause the night's gettin' cold
   C           G                C         G
And maybe ev'rything dies, baby, that's a fact
          C          G             D         C
But maybe ev'rything that dies someday comes back
 
 
[Verse]
 
           Em              G              C        G
Now, I been lookin' for a job, but it's hard to find
                Em               G
Down here it's just winners and losers and don't
        C                   G
   get caught on the wrong side of that line
           Em              G         C      G
Well, I'm tired of comin' out on the losin' end
                Em                G
So, honey, last night I met this guy and I'm gonna
 C                   G
do a little favor for him 
 
 
[Chorus]
 
         Em     G                C        G
Well now, ev'rything dies, baby, that's a fact
          Em           G           D         Em
But maybe ev'rything that dies someday comes back
                G            C       G
Put your makeup on, fix your hair up pretty
    Em       G           C       G
And meet me tonight in Atlantic City