Hobo Bill's Last Ride Chords

KeyC CapoNone TuningStandard Difficulty Plays399

Hobo Bill's Last Ride by Merle Haggard is a beginner-friendly guitar song played in the key of C. It uses the chords G, C, A7 and D7. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.

Transpose
C
Text
16
Speed
  			G                                    C                    G  
Riding on an eastbound freight train speeding through the night  
C           G                A7               D7  
Hobo Bill a railroad bum was fighting for his life  
    G                                C              G  
The sadness of his eyes revealed the torture of his soul  
   C                 G             D7             G  
He raised a weak and weary hand to brush away the cold  

                                       C                 G  
No warm lights flickered around him no blankets there to fold  
C               G                    A7              D7  
Nothing but the howling wind and the driving rain so cold  
G                                    C              G  
When he heard a whistle blowing in a dreamy kind of way  
    C           G                D7                    G  
The hobo seemed contented for he smiled there where he lay  

                                     C               G  
Outside the rain was falling on that lonesome boxcar door  
        C              G             A7             D7  
But the little form of Hobo Bill lay still upon the floor  
   G                                           C            G  
As the train sped through the darkness and the raging storm outside  
C                G             D7              G  
No one knew that Hobo Bill was taking his last ride  

                                      C                 G  
It was early in the morning when they raised the hobo's head  
    C                    G               A7            D7  
The smile still lingered on his face but Hobo Bill was dead  
      G                          C                G  
There was no mother's longing to soothe his weary soul  
    C             G                D7              G  
For he was just a railroad bum who died out in the cold 

    	

Chord diagrams

Guitar tuner

--
Start the tuner and play a string

Reference tones

Standard tuning, lowest to highest. Click a string to play it; the string the mic hears is highlighted.

Click Start tuner and allow microphone access. The needle centers and turns green when a string is in tune (within 5 cents).
No microphone? You can still tap any string above to hear its exact reference pitch.

Metronome

100 BPM Andante