Railroad Man Uke tab by Themes

[Intro]
 
  Am                           C
I wanna share a tale with you about the 'merican dream
     F                                     Am
When all the railroads ran on time and our nation ran on steam
  Am                                   C
Behind the tracks and railroad tyres a hero took command
     G                           E                       Am
Of connecting every town, he was called...  The railroad man...
 
 
[Chorus]
 
         Am           Em
Railroad man, can you take me to San Fran
        D                           Am
Can you take me down to Tennessee, across the Rio Grande
        F                            C
Can you take me up Mount Everest and into Disneyland
        G                                E                Am
Can you get me there on time, oh can you do it?  Railroad man...  (Railroad man, railroad man)
 
       (> Uhh, guys?)
       (> - Sorry, that song's just too damn catchy)
   > Now you're probably wondering why they called him the railroad man
       (> - I think you explained it pretty well)
   > Well, I'm gonna tell you why!
 
 
[Verse]
 
     Am                                   C
They called him that because he built the railroads and was male
         F                      F                    Am
And they called them railroads 'cause they were like roads, except with rails.
 
       (> Cool, uhh... thanks for clarifying)
 
    Am                                     C
His eyes, they say, were made of coal; his toes were railroad spikes,
    F                                    Am
His trains had seven stars on Yelp and a billion Facebook likes.
 
   > That's right... a billion.
       (> - What happened next?)
   > Shut up kid! I'm the one singing!
       (> - I wasn't singi..)
 
 
[Verse]
 
   Am                                        C
He built up the tracks, you see; (he) hooked up the USA.
       F                                Am
And he could have kept on going, if not for that fateful day.
      Am                                   C
These two weird fellas came to town and invented human flight,
     G                                         E                     Am
They called their ship an 'aeroplane' and themselves... the brothers Wright. (brothers Wright)
 
           Am                              C
They said: Our planes can transfer man without the need for rail
     F                           Am
Your industry is dying and your dream's going to fail.
        Am                                      C
So pull up your slacks and pack your tracks and get on out of town; 
   G                                     Am
We don't need steam or steel beams to get ourselves around."
 
 
   > Railroad Man was none too pleased about that. He said:
 
 
[Verse]
 
Am                                  C
Two Wrights don't make a right, and dang if that ain't wrong!
F                                        Am
Hey that lyric ain't half-bad, I hope it ends up in a song. 
   Am                            C
If God intended man to fly, we'd be born in a flock;
      F                                            Am
Those Wright Brothers and their flight machine can go and suck a cock!
      Am                                          C
Those Wright Brothers can sniff my biff, they can give my ass a smell;
         G                                         E                   Am
They can lick my shaft from fore to aft and their plane... can burn in hell.
 
 
  > Excuse the language folks but that's what the Railroad Man said. His fucking words.
 
 
[Verse]
 
    Am                                        C
The Wright Brothers they challenged him; they said, "You think you're great?
    F                                      Am
Can your steam trains do a loop-de-loop without losing their freight?
    Am                                C
And if you do it we'll leave town and we won't ever come back;
    G                                      Am
But if you fail you can take your rail and shove it up your crack!"
 
   > Naww, the hell with you Wright Brothers, the sky's for birds!
   > -And the ground's for turds, and you sir are the latter word.
 
 
[Chorus]
 
         Am           Em
Railroad man! Can you rise to their demand?
    D                                       Am
Can your trains do a loop-de-loop, can they do it all on land? 
         F                                          C
Wilbur's talking smack about your track, Orville's railing on your rails;
        G                                         E                                   Am
Can you beat their ass with steam and brass, and eight-inch steel nails? The Railroad man.
 
   > Say, that was a pretty good train-sition! Huh, anyway...
 
 
[Verse]
 
    Am                            C
The Railroad Man he spent a month looping up his track,
        F                                Am
Then he gathered up the townsfolk and he told 'em to stand back. 
    Am                                  C
The train had started chugging, and the loop-de-loop drew near,
    G                          Am
The train it was America, its freight our hopes and fears. 
 Am                                    C
Everyone watched in silence, you could hear a needle drop;
    F                                      Am                     *THUD*
The train it went straight up the loop and right on to the top...
 
 
[Bridge]
 
    Am                            C
The Railroad Man was finished, he knew he'd had his run,
    F                                          E                  Am
The airplane beat him fair and square, and the railroad days were done. 
 
 
[Verse]
 
      Am                               C
But before he died he wrote a note for anyone that flies;
   F                                     Am
He wrote it all in railroad, so he could read it from the sky.
   Am                            C
So take a look there down below, written in the land,
       G                         E                  Am
You'll see the final dying words of... the Railroad Man! (The Railroad Man!) 
             Am
The Railroad Man! (The Railroad Man!) The Railroad Man!
 
   > Damn you Wright Brothers!