Tom: D
D G
Daddy, what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
D E7 A7
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
D D7 G
Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
D A7 D
When my little boy asks me, Daddy whats a train?
[Verse 1]
D G
When I was just a boy living by the track
D E7 A7
Us kids'd gather up the coal in a big ol' big gunny sack,
D D7 G
And then we'd hear the warning sound as the train pulled into view
D A7 D D7
And the engineer would smile and wave as she went rolling through;
[Bridge 1]
(spoken)
G D
She blew so loud and clear that we had to cover up our ears
E7 A
And we counted cars as high as we could go.
D D7 G
I can almost hear the steam and the big old drivers scream
A A7 D
With a sound my little boy will never know.
[Chorus]
D G
Daddy, what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
D E7 A7
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
D D7 G
Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
D A7 D
When my little boy asks me, Daddy whats a train?
[Verse 2]
D G
I guess the times have changed and kids are different now;
D E7 A7
'Cause some don't even seem to know that milk comes from a cow.
D D7 G
My little boy can tell the names of all the baseball stars
D A7 D
And I remember how we memorized the names on railroad cars:
[Bridge 2]
(spoken)
G D
The Wabash and TP, Lackawanna and the IC
E7 A
Nickel Plate and the good old Santa Fe;
D D7 G
Just names out of the past I guess they're fading fast
A A7
Every time I hear my little boy say,
[Chorus]
D G
Daddy, what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
D E7 A7
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
D D7 G
Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
D A7 D
When my little boy asks me, Daddy whats a train?
[Verse 3]
D G
We climbed into the car and drove down into town
D E7 A7
Right up to the depot house but no one was around.
D D7 G
We searched the yard together for something I could show
D A7 D D7
But I knew there hadn't been a train for a dozen years or so.
[Bridge 3]
(spoken)
G D
All the things I did when I was just a kid
E7 A
How far away those old memories appear,
D D7 G
I guess it's plain to see they still mean a lot to me
D A7 D
'Cause my ambition was to be an engineer.
[Chorus]
D G
Daddy, what's a train? Is it something I can ride?
D E7 A7
Does it carry lots of grown-up folks and little kids inside?
D D7 G
Is it bigger than our house? Well how can I explain
D A7 D
When my little boy asks me, Daddy whats a train?
