Bruce Springsteen : The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Capo:

II

Harp:

C

[or

D

with capo]

Am

Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks

C

/a

G

Goin' some place, there's no goin' back

G

Highway Patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge

Am

/g

Am

Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge Shelter line stretchin' round the corner Welcome to the new world order Families sleepin' in their cars in the southwest No home, no job, no peace, no rest

F

The highway is alive tonight

C

/b

Am

But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes

G

I'm sitting down here in the campfire light

Am

/g

Am

Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad He pulls prayer book out of his sleepin' bag Preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass Got a one-way ticket to the promised land You got a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock Bathing in the city aqueduct The highway is alive tonight But where it's headed everybody knows I'm sitting down here in the campfire light Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad |

F

|

F

|

C

.

/g

|

Am

|

G

Am

| Now Tom said, Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy Wherever a hungry new born baby cries Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred in the air Look for me mom I'll be there Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a place to stand Or decent job or a helpin' hand Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free Look in their eyes mom you'll see me The highway is alive tonight But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes I'm sitting down here in the campfire light Waitin' for the ghost of Tom Joad |

F

|

F

|

C

.

/g

|

Am

|

G

|

Am

/g

|

Am

| ...

D11

|----------------|

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|-----0-------0--|

|---4-------4----|

|-5--------------|

|----------------|

D11

Got out of prison back in '86 and I found me a wife

G/b

D11

Walked the clean and narrow, just tryin' to stay out and stay alive

D11

Got a job at the rendering company, it ain't gonna make me rich

G/b

D11

In the darkness before dinner comes, sometimes I can feel the itch

A7sus4

G

I got a cold mind to go tripping across that thin line

D11

I'm sick of doin' straight time

D11

My uncle's at the evenin' table makes his living runnin' hot cars

G/b

D11

Slips me a hundred dollar bill, says, "Charlie, you best remember who your friends are"

A7sus4

G

I got a cold mind to go tripping across that thin line

D11

I ain't makin' straight time

G

D11

Eight years in, it feels like you're gonna die

G

D11

But you get used to anything, sooner or later it just becomes your life Kitchen floor in the evening, tossin' my little babies high Mary's smilin', but she watches me out of the corner of her eye Seems you can't get any more than half free I step out onto the front porch, suck the cold air deep inside of me Got a cold mind to go tripping cross that thin line I'm sick of doin' straight time In the basement, huntin' gun and a hacksaw Sip a beer, and thirteen inches of barrel drop to the floor

D11

Come home in the evening, can't get the smell from my hands

G/b

D11

Lay my head down on the pillow and go driftin' off into foreign lands

C

F

C

I slipped on her shoe, she was a perfect size seven

Am7

C/g

F

I said there's no smokin' in the store ma'am, she crossed her legs and then

F

C

We made some small talk, that's where it should have stopped

Am7

C/g

F

She slipped me a number, I put it in my pocket

F

C

My hand slipped up her skirt, everything slipped my mind

Am7

F

C

In that little roadhouse on Highway 29

F

C

It was a small town bank, it was a mess

Am7

C/g

F

Well I had a gun, you know the rest

F

C

Money on the floorboards, shirt was covered in blood and she was cryin'

Am7

F

C

Her and me we headed south on Highway 29

Am7

F

In a little desert motel, the air was hot and clean

C

G

I slept the sleep of the dead, I didn't dream

Am7

F

I woke in the morning washed my face in the sink

C

G

We headed into the Sierra Madres 'cross the borderline

F

C

The winter sun, shot through the black trees

Am7

C/g

F

I told myself it was all something in her, but as we drove I knew it was something in me

F

C

Something had been comin' for a long long time

Am7

F

C

And something that was here with me now on Highway 29 |

C

|

C/f

C/g

|

Am7

|

C/g

|

C

|

F

C

The road was filled with broken glass and gasoline

Am7

C/g

F

She wasn't sayin' nothin', it was just a dream

F

C

The wind come silent through the windshield, all I could see was snow and sky and pines

Am7

C/g

F

I closed my eyes and I was runnin', yeah, I was runnin' then I was flyin'...

Instrumental verse

Dm

Here in north east Ohio Back in eighteen-oh-three

C

James and Danny Heaton found the ore

Dm

That was linin' yellow creek They built a blast furnace Here along the shore And they made the cannon balls That helped the union win the war

C

Here in Youngstown

Dm

Here in Youngstown

F

C

My sweet Jenny, I'm sinkin' down

Dm

Here darlin' in Youngstown Well my daddy worked the furnaces Kept 'em hotter then hell I come home from 'Nam, worked my way to scarfer A job that'd suit the devil as well Yeah, taconite, coke and limestone Fed my children and made my pay Then smokestacks reachin' like the arms of God Into a beautiful sky of soot and clay Here in Youngstown Here in Youngstown My sweet Jenny, I'm sinkin' down Here darlin' in Youngstown

F

C

Well my daddy come on the Ohio works

Dm

When he come home from World War Two

C

Now the yard's just scrap and rubble

Dm

He said, "Them big boys did what Hitler couldn't do"

F

C

These mills they built the tanks and bombs

Dm

That won this countries wars

C

We sent our sons to Korea and Vietnam

Dm

Now were wondering what they were dyin' for Here in Youngstown Here in Youngstown My sweet Jenny, I'm sinkin' down Here darlin' in Youngstown From the Monongaleh valley To the Mesabi iron range To the coal mines of Appalachia The story's always the same Seven-hundred tons of metal a day Now sir you tell me the world's changed Once I made you rich enough Rich enough to forget my name Here in Youngstown Here in Youngstown My sweet Jenny, I'm sinkin' down Here darlin' in Youngstown

F

C

When I die I don't want no part of heaven

Dm

I would not do heaven's work well

C

I pray the devil comes and takes me

Dm

To stand in the fiery furnaces of hell

C

|

Dm

|

F

|

C

|

Dm

Capo:

III

G

C

Miguel came from a small town in northern Mexico

G

D

He came north with his brother Louis to California three years ago

G

C

They crossed at the river levee, when Louis was just sixteen

G

D

G

And found work together in the fields of the San Joaquin They left their homes and families, their father said, "One thing you will learn For everything the north gives, it exacts a price in return" They worked side-by-side in the orchards from morning till the day was through Doing the work the hueros wouldn't do Word was out some men in from Sinaloa were looking for some hands Well, deep in Fresno county there was a deserted chicken ranch And there in a small tin shack on the edge of a ravine Miguel and Louis stood cooking methamphetamine

C

You could spend a year in the orchards

G

Or make half as much in one ten hour shift

C

G

D

Working for the men from Sinaloa, ah, but if you slipped

C

G

C

The hydriodic acid could burn right through your skin

G

D

G

They'd leave you spittin' up blood in the desert if you breathed those fumes in It was early one winter evening as Miguel stood watch outside When the shack exploded, lighting up the valley night Miguel carried Louis' body over his shoulder down a swale to the creekside And there in the tall grass, Louis Rosales died Miguel lifted Louis' body into his truck and then he drove To where the morning sunlight fell on a eucalyptus grove There in the dirt he dug up ten-thousand dollars, all that they'd saved Kissed his brothers lips and placed him in his grave

|

C

|

C

|

F

C

|

C

F

C

I got my discharge from Fort Irwin, took a place on the San Diego county line

F

C

G

Felt funny bein' a civilian again, it'd been some time

C

F

C

My wife had died a year ago, I was still tryin' to find my way back whole

F

C

G

C

Went to work for the INS on the line with the California Border Patrol Bobby Ramirez was a ten year veteran, and we became friends His family was from Guanajuato, so the job it was different for him He said, "They risk death in the deserts and mountains, pay all they got to the smugglers' rings We send 'em home and they come right back again, Carl, hunger is a powerful thing" Well I was good at doin' what I was told, kept my uniform pressed and clean At night I chased their shadows through the arroyos and ravines Drug runners, farmers with their families, young women with little children by their sides Come night we'd wait out in the canyons and try to keep 'em from crossin' the line Well the first time that I saw her, she was in the holdin' pen Our eyes met and she looked away, then she looked back again Her hair was black as coal, her eyes reminded me of what I'd lost She had a young child cryin' in her arms and I asked, "Senora, is there anything I can do"

Am7

F

There's a bar in Tijuana where me and Bobby drink

C

G

C

Alongside the same people we'd sent back the day before

Am7

F

We met there she said her name was Louisa

C

G

She was from Sonora and had just come north

Am7

F

We danced and I held her in my arms

G

C

And I knew what I would do

F

C

She said she had some family in Madera County

G

C

If she, her child and her younger brother could just get through At night they come across the levy in the searchlight's dusty glow We'd rush 'em in our Broncos and force 'em back down into the river below She climbed into my truck, she leaned towards me and we kissed As we drove, her brother's shirt slipped open, and I saw the tape across his chest We were just about on the highway When Bobby's jeep come up in the dust on my right I pulled over and let my engine run And stepped out into his lights I felt myself movin' Felt my gun restin' 'neath my hand We stood there starin' at each other As off through the arroyo she ran Bobby Ramirez he never said nothin', six months later I left the line I drifted to the central valley and took what work I could find At night I searched the local bars and the migrant towns Lookin' for my Louisa with the black hair fallin' down

Capo:

III

|

C

G

|

C

G

|

D

|

C

G

|

C

G

C

G

He lay his blanket underneath the freeway

C

G

C

As the evening sky grew dark

C

G

C

G

Took a sniff of toncho from his coke can

D

C

G

And headed through Balboa Park

C

G

C

G

Where the men in the Mercedes

C

G

C

Come nightly to employ

G

C

G

In the cool San Diego evening

D

|

C

G

|

C

G

|

D

|

C

G

The services of the border boys He grew up near the Zona Norte With the hustlers and smugglers he hung out with He swallowed their balloons of cocaine Brought 'em cross the 12th street strip Sleeping in a shelter If the night got too cold Runnin' from the migra Of the border patrol Past the Salvage yard 'cross the train tracks And in through the storm drain They stretched their blankets out 'neath the freeway And each one took a name There was x-man and cochese Little spider his sneakers covered in river mud They come north to California End up with the poison in their blood

Em7

G

He did what he had to do for the money

G

D

C

Sometimes he sent home what he could spare

Em7

C

The rest went to high-top sneakers and toncho

G

D

G

And jeans like the gavatchos wear One night the border patrol swept 12th street A big car come fast down the boulevard Spider stood caught in its headlights Got hit and went down hard As the car sped away spider held his stomach Limped to his blanket 'neath the underpass Lie there tasting his own blood on his tongue Closed his eyes and listened to the cars rushin' by so fast

|

G

| % |

F

| % |

C

F

Threw my robe on in the morning

C

Watched the ring on the stove turn red

G

Stared hypnotized into a cup of coffee

C

Pulled on my boots and made my bed Screen door hangin' off its hinges Kept bangin' me awake all night As I look out the window The only thing in sight

F

Is dry lightning

C

On the horizon line

G

Gsus4

G

Just dry lightning

Gsus4

C

And you on my mind I chased the heat of her blood Like it was the holy grail Descend beautiful spirit Into the evening pale Her appaloosa's Kickin' in the corral smelling rain There's a low thunder rolling 'Cross the mesquite plain But it's dry lightning On the horizon line Just dry lightning And you on my mind |

F

|

F

|

C

|

C

|

G

|

G

I'd drive down to Alvarado street

C

Where she danced to make ends meet

G

I'd spend the night over my gin

C

G

As she'd talk to her men Well the piss yellow sun Comes bringing up the day She said ain't nobody gonna give nobody What they really need anyway You get so sick of the fighting You lose your fear of the end But you can't lose your memory And the sweet smell of your skin And it's dry lightning On the horizon line Just dry lightning And you on my mind

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)

D

A

D

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-----2-|-2--------|----------|-2-------

-2h4---|-0----2h4-|-2--4p2p0-|-0-------

-------|----------|-0--------|---------

-------|---0------|----------|---------

D

He rode the rails since the great depression

D

A

Fifty years out on the skids

A

He said you don't cross nobody

A

D

You'll be all right out here, kid Left my family in Pennsylvania Searchin' for work I hit the road I met Frank in east Texas In a freight yard blown through with snow From New Mexico to Colorado California to the sea Frank he showed me the ropes, sir Just till I could get back on my feet I hoed sugar beets outside of Firebaugh I picked the peaches from the Marysville tree They bunked us in a barn just like animals Me and a hundred others just like me |

D

|

A

|

D

| We split up come the springtime I never seen Frank again 'Cept one rainy night he blew by me on grainer Shouted my name and disappeared in the rain and the wind They found him shot dead outside Stockton His body lyin' on a muddy hill Nothin' taken, nothin' stolen Somebody killed him just to kill |

D

|

A

|

D

|

A

D

Late that summer I was rollin' through the plains of Texas

G

D

A vision passed before my eyes

A

D

A small house sittin' track-side

A

D

With the glow of the saviours beautiful light

A

D

A woman stood cookin' in the kitchen

G

D

Kid sat at the table with his old man

A

D

Now I wonder does my son miss me

A

D

Does he wonder where I am |

D

|

A

|

D

| Tonight I pick my campsite carefully Outside the Sacramento Yard Gather some wood and light a fire In the early winter dark Wind whistling cold I pull my coat around me Make some coffee and stare out into the black night I lie awake, I lie awake sir With my machete by my side My Jesus your gracious love and mercy Tonight I'm sorry could not fill my heart Like one good rifle And the name of who I ought to kill

Capo:

III

|

G

|

C

|

G

|

D

|

G

|

G

Tonight my bag is packed

C

G

Tomorrow I'll walk these tracks

D7

G

That will lead me across the border Tomorrow my love and I Will sleep 'neath auburn skies Somewhere across the border

C

We'll leave behind my dear

D7

The pain and sadness we found here

G

Am

And we'll drink from the Bravo's muddy waters

C

Where the sky grows grey and wide We'll meet on the other side There across the border For you I'll build a house High up on a grassy hill Somewhere across the border Where pain and memory Pain and memory have been stilled There across the border And sweet blossoms fills the air Pastures of gold and green Roll down into cool clear waters And in your arms 'neath open skies I'll kiss the sorrow from your eyes There across the border

Harmonica over verse chords x2

Tonight we'll sing the songs I'll dream of you my corazon And tomorrow my heart will be strong And may the saints' blessing and grace Carry me safely into your arms There across the border

Fiddle over verse chords x2

For what are we Without hope in our hearts That someday we'll drink from God's blessed waters And eat the fruit from the vine I know love and fortune will be mine Somewhere across the border

Harmonica over verse chords x2

Harmonica over middle 8 chords

Harmonica over verse chords

D

Fifteen years Le Bing Son

G

D

Fought side-by-side with the Americans

A

D

In the mountains and deltas of Vietnam In '75 Saigon fell And he left his command And brought his family to the promised land Seabrook Texas and the small towns In the Gulf of Mexico It was delta country and reminded him of home He worked as a machinist, put his money away And bought a shrimp boat with his cousin And together they harvested Galveston Bay

A

D

In the mornin' 'fore the sun come up

G

D

He'd kiss his sleepin' daughter

A

D

Steer out through the channel

G

D

|

G

|

D

| And casts his nets into the water

D

Billy Sutter fought with Charlie Company

G

D

In the highlands of Quang Tri

G

D

He was wounded in the battle of Chu Lai

A

D

And shipped home in '68 There he married and worked the gulf fishing grounds In a boat that'd been his father's In the morning he'd kiss his sleeping son And cast his nets into the water

D

G

D

Billy sat in front of his TV as the south fell

G

D

And the Communists rolled into Saigon

D

He and his friends watched as the refugees came

A

D

Settle on the same streets and worked the coast they grew up on Soon in the bars around the harbor Was talk of America for Americans Someone said, "You want 'em out, you got to burn 'em out" And brought in the Texas klan One humid Texas night There were three shadows on the harbor Come to burn the Vietnamese boats into the sea In the fire's light shots rang out Two Texans lay dead on the ground Le stood with a pistol in his hand A jury acquitted him in self defense As before the judge he did stand But as he walked down the courthouse steps Billy said "My friend, you're a dead man" |

A

D

|

G

D

|

D

A

|

2/4

D

|

4/4

G

|

D

|

G

D

One late summer night Le stood watch along the waterside

G

D

Billy stood in the shadows, his K-bar knife in his hand

A

D

And the moon slipped behind the clouds

G

D

Le lit a cigarette, the bay was as still as glass As he walked by Billy stuck his knife into his pocket

G

D

Took a breath and let him pass

A

D

In the early darkness Billy rose up

G

D

Went into the kitchen for a drink of water

A

D

Kissed his sleeping wife

G

Headed into the channel

D

A

D

And casts his nets into the water of Galveston Bay

C

F

C

Every cloud has a silver lining

C

F

C

G

Every dog has his day

F

C

She said, now don't say nothin'

G

Gsus4

If you don't have something nice to say

F

C

F

C

G

The tough, now they get going, when the going gets tough

C

G

F

C

But for you my best was never good enough

C

F

C

Now don't try for a home run, baby

C

F

(

C

)

G

If you can get the job done with a hit

F

C

G

Remember, a quitter never wins and a winner never quits

F

C

The sun don't shine on a sleepin' dog's ass

F

C

G

And all the rest of that stuff

C

G

F

C

But for you my best was never good enough

F

C

If God gives you nothin' but lemons

F

C

Then you make some lemonade"

F

C

The early bird catches the fuckin' worm

F

C

G

Gsus4

Rome wasn't built in a day"

C

Now life's like a box of chocolates

F

C

You never know what you're going to get

C

G

Stupid is as stupid does and all the rest of that shit

F

C

F

Come on, pretty baby, call my bluff

C

G

F

C

'Cause for you my best was never good enough

Bruce Springsteen : The Ghost Of Tom Joad
1995

The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Straight Time

Highway 29

Youngstown

Sinaloa Cowboys

The Line

Balboa Park

Dry Lightning

The New Timer

Across The Border

Galveston Bay

My Best Was Never Good Enough

Bruce Springsteen : The Ghost Of Tom Joad 1995

The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Straight Time

Highway 29

Youngstown

Sinaloa Cowboys

The Line

Balboa Park

Dry Lightning

The New Timer

Across The Border

Galveston Bay

My Best Was Never Good Enough

Bruce Springsteen : The Ghost Of Tom Joad
1995