East Chicago Blues chords by The Special Consensus

Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E)

Intro:
Em
*chord is picked


Verse 1:
Em
There's no work back in the hills of West Kentucky
                                          A
Only what'll break your back or kill your brain
                                   D                 A
There's no place in Illinois for a hard-eyed country boy
Em              G                A               Em
Busted dream or two and he'll be on a southbound train

Verse 2:
Em
Well I traced the path my brothers laid before me
                                      A
Swapped the records for the oil on my shoes
                                        D                 A
Now my eyes burn from the sting and the fidddle haunts my dreams
        Em                 G                     A            Em
And the lonely song that's playing is called the East Chicago Blues


Chorus 1:
Em        A                      Em
Can't you see the dusty northern skies
                                          B7
Can't you hear the freight trains rolling through
          Em                           A
When your heartaches never end and you can't go home again
                G              A            Em
You know you're sinking in the East Chicago Blues


Instrumental:
|A      |A      |Em      |Em      |A      |A      |B7     |B7
|Em     |Em     |A       |A       |G      |G      |B7     |A
| Em    |Em     |A       |A
 **Each chord is a 4-count


Verse 3:
Em
These hands of mine are cut from hauling timber
                                                   A
And a thousand barrels roll 'cross the steam house floor
                                         D                 A
Oh and these hands make a fire when they grip the wood and wire
         Em             G                      A       Em
This old mandolin makes music like no one has  heard before


Verse 4:
Em
And each evening as the sun slips down the skyline
                                       A
I send some lonesome blues into in the night
                     G       D             C  N.C.
Somewhere beyond the skies I see a curtain rise
      Em            G                           Em
And a West Kentucky farm boy steps out into the light


Chorus 2:
Em        A                          Em
Can't you hear the hard times in his song
             A                  B7
You can tell that he's paid his dues
Em                                 A
That Kentucky boy was made back in 1933
     G                A            Em
Just knee-deep in the East Chicago Blues


Chorus  3:
Em        A                      Em
Can't you see the dusty northern skies
                                          B7
Can't you hear the freight trains rolling through
          Em                           A
When your heartaches never end and you can't go home again
                    G                                  A
When you worry yourself away like a string wound up to break
                      D                   A
Oh that's the kind of blues you may never shake
                    G                  A
And you know you're sinking, oh you're drowning
         A            Em
In these East Chicago Blues