Turnpike Tom — Steve Goodman
Chords and lyrics for Turnpike Tom by Steve Goodman (key of Dm).
Verse 1
[D]First time I met old Turnpike Tom
Sittin' in a diner in Bloomington
[G]He said "Are you going my way?"[D]
He had a sleeping bag and his hat was torn
And both his thumbs were two feet long
From years of hitchin' on the hi-way
[F]He said [Em]"Mister, won't [Am]you give me a ride
[F]I'm a [Em]wanted man [Am]lookin' for a[A] place to hide"
[D]Oh, we finished the coffee and we got in the car
We drove off and hadn't gone far
[G]When Tom began to tell me his sad [D]story...
He said "Long around 1942
Buddy, I robbed a bank in Kalamazoo
Just to get enough money to marry my true darlin'
But she died when she heard what I had done
And ever since I've been on the run
Standing on the hi-ways a callin'
[F]A [Em]callin' mister won't [Am]you give me a ride
[F]I'm a [Em]wanted man [Am]lookin' for a place to hide"[A]
[D]Said "Now I'm gettin' old and ready to die
Too tired to run and too sick to try
[G]And soon I'll be hitchin' upstairs in [D]the skyway..."
Spoken
Oh, play that again...
[D]He said "I can't pay you for the ride
Just once before I die
[G]I'd like to do somebody a favor"[D]
And out of his pocket came a rusty old key
Along with a map and he give 'em to me
And said "Here's an end to all your labor"
[F]"Way down in [Em]Greensboro, [Am]Tennessee
[F]In the back of [Em]Rusty's Roadside[Am] Cabaret[A]
[D]There's 20,000 in unmarked green
The money I stole that's in the machine
[G]That hangs on the wall in Rusty's Roadside men's[D] room"
So, three nights later at Rusty's door
I had a beer and then I had one more
Then I headed for the treasure
Just like old Turnpike Tom had said
The machine was under a sign which read
Sanitary 3-for-a-quarter
[F]So I took out [Em]the key and I [Am]broke the lock
[F]There to my [Em]bewilderment and [Am]shock[A]
[D]I found a sign which read "You've just been had
In a sanitary way by Turnpike Tom
[G]The outlaw with the fastest [D]sense of humor"
And if you meet someone with a troubled mind
Well, just give him the key and feed him the line
And tell him his days will soon be better
[F]Yes, and mister,[Em] you've been [Am]taken for a ride
[F]There ain't [Em]nothin' but fools [Am]gold here inside[A]
[D]Oh, the real gold, that's inside us all
Remember that you only fall for
[G]Lies and stories when you really[D] want to
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