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American Rivers - Tom Russell

American Rivers

View chords used in this chart

CAPO: 2

Intro

C

verse 1

F C

Ain’t no more cane on the Brazos

F G C

Yeah, yeah, yeah

F C

It’s all been ground down to molasses

F G C

Yeah, yeah, yeah

verse 2

I saw a red iron sunset

From a rust iron bridge

F

In the Indian country

C

Of the mockingbird kid

verse 3

I saw the moon in a boxcar

Being carried as freight

F

Through sixty-two winters

C

Through forty-eight states

verse 4

In an old Chinese graveyard

I slept in the weeds

F

When a song and a story

C

Were all a kid needs

Verse 5

Hear the rhymes and the rattles

Of those runaway trains

F

And the songs of the cowboy

C

And the sound of the rain

[Refrão]

And it’s, "Mom, I miss you"

I woke up and screamed

F

American rivers

C

Roll deep through my dreams

F C

It's Colorado, yeah, Allegheny

F C

Shenandoah, Susquehanny

Am G

And the Wabash and the Hudson, the brave Rio Grande

F C

I was a kid there, asleep in the sandy old water

F C F C

Yeah, old water, yeah

Interlude

C Bb C Bb C

Verse 6

We named ‘em for Indians

Our guilt to forsake

F

The Delaware the Blackfoot

C

The Flathead the Snake

Verse 7

Now they roll past casinos

And old hamburger stands

F

They’re all waving farewell

C

To the kid on the land

Verse 8

With their jigsawed old arteries

So clogged and defiled

F

No open heart miracle

C

Is gonna turn ’em back wild

Verse 9

Past towns gone to bankers

Past fields gone to seed

F

All cut up and carved out

C

So divided by greed

verse 10

And old grandfather catfish

With his whiskers so long

F

And his life in a struggle

C

'Cause the oxygen’s gone

[Refrão]

"Oh, mom, I miss you", I woke up and screamed

F

These American rivers

C

They poison my dreams

F C

It's Colorado, yeah, Allegheny

F C

Shenandoah, Susquehanny

Am G

And the Wabash and the Hudson, the brave Rio Grande

F C

I was a kid there, I was asleep in the sandy old water

F C F

Yeah, old water, yeah

Outro

C Bb C Bb C

How to play American Rivers

Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.

What is the starting chord?

The first identified chord is C. You can transpose without leaving the page.

Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?

Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.

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