Fear Of Trains
View chords used in this chart
my band Leslie Can't Love plays this so I figured why not transcribe it.
Chords with words are first. Some riffs are tabbed at the bottom.
Fear of Trains by the Magnetic Fields. 'Charm of the Highway Strip'
into: G F C
VERSE 1:
G F C
It was the army train that took her daddy from her
G F C
It was the bible train that took her momma too
Am Dm C G
And that high loud whistle made her horse run away
G F C
But the straw the broke the camel's back was you
G F C
It was the government train that took away her childhood
G F C
It was the KKK that took away her past
Am Dm C G
It was the white man's will that hers be broken
G F C
But that barefoot girl could run too fast
CHORUS:
C Am
Because the world's too cold for a girl like that with a
C G
Blackfoot soul and a cowboy hat
C Am
Everything she loved went down the dragon track
C G F C
She had a fear of trains
BRIDGE:
C G
In the beet fields of Montana
Dm Am
She's always coming on dead rails
C G
to break the plow and whisper "Honey,
Dm Am
bound to live is bound to fail"
C G
And in a park in San Francisco
Dm Am
her momma shrieks about the Lord
C G
And down the dead rails there's an echo
Dm Am
The wind is whistling all-aboard
CHORUS
VERSE2: (same chords as before)
It was the wagon train that too away her country
It was the oil train that took away her land
She could have been the belle of the ponderosa
but that was not the fat man's plan
CHORUS
Guitar riff during verses and intro:
E-------------------1--0-----------------------------------------
B-------1--0---1-------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------0^2^0------------0^2^0------------
D-------------------------------------0^2--------------0^2-------
A--------------------------3-----------------3--------------3----
E---3----------1-------------------------------------------------
Guitar riff at the end of the Chorus:
E-------1^0-------------------------1^0--------------------------
B------------3^1--------------------------3^1--------------------
G------------------2--2---0---------------------0----------------
D------------------------------3----------------2----------------
A---3-------------------------------------------3----------------
E------------------3-----------1---------------------------------
Guitar/keyboard riff during the bridge:
E-------3-----------3-------------1-----------0------------------
B--1-----------0-------------------------------------------------
G----------------------------2-------------2---------------------
D----------------------------0-----------------------------------
A--3---------------------------------------0---------------------
E--------------3-------------------------------------------------
How to play Fear Of Trains
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 G. 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.