Boy From Oklahoma
View chords used in this chart
CAPO: 5th Fret
C G
Travelling across the country
C
Playing on the circuit line
Am
Sometimes I think about a man
D7 G7
Who was here before my time
F C
Named for the 28th president
F G
With a Guthrie tacked to the end
C G
Born in Okemah shoes
Bb F
With the Dust Bowl blues
G C
He's a friend of the working man
G
Now he wasn't fond of New York buildings
C
That tried to touch the sky
Am
Or the West Virginia coal mines
D7 G7
That took so many lives
F C
For the way they drove the migrant workers
F G
Back into Mexico way
C G
The scabs they'd run
Bb F
When they'd heard he'd come
G C
And the bosses started to pray
Chorus:
F G
Just a boy from Oklahoma
C Am
On an endless one-night stand
F G
Wandering and a-rambling
C Am
Drifting with the midnight sand
F G
Singing the blues and ballads
C F
And whatever came between
Dm
Well, his heart was in the Union
Bb G C F G C
But his soul was reaching out for the servant's dream
G
Now I was talking to a man
C
M et him in a bar near Clovis town
Am
He said the whole place was shaking
D7 G7
As they were passing his songs around
F C
And then somebody asked him
F G
Where he'd be when tomorrow came
C G
He just said with a grin,
Bb F
"I put my thumb in the wind
G C
And I'm off down the road again"
Chorus:
F G
Just a boy from Oklahoma
C Am
On an endless one-night stand
F G
Wandering and a-rambling
C Am
Drifting with the midnight sand
F G
Singing the blues and ballads
C F
And whatever came between
Dm
His heart was in the Union
Bb G C F G C
But his soul was reaching out for the servant's dream
G
Now you know Woody Guthrie
C
Is dead and buried in the ground
Am
Sometimes I sing his songs
D7 G7
I get to thinking that he's still around
F C
'Cause his fire is everlasting
F G
His course was run true
C G
That old rambling man's risen
Bb F
And the kingdom is his
G C
But his songs are for me and you
Chorus:
F G
Just a boy from Oklahoma
C Am
On an endless one-night stand
F G
Wandering and a-rambling
C Am
Drifting with the midnight sand
F G
Playing the blues and ballads
C F
And whatever he came between
Dm
His heart was in the Union
Bb G C
His soul was reaching out for the servant's dream
How to play Boy From Oklahoma
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.