Key: C
Introduction:
C G C
Ho-o-bo-o Billy.
F C F C
Riding on the eastbound freight train, speeding through the night,
F C D7 G
Hobo Bill, a railroad bum, was fighting for his life.
F C F C
The sadness of his eyes revealed the torture of his soul.
F C G C
He raised a weak and weary hand to brush away the coal.
verse 2
C G C
Ho-o-bo-o Billy.
F C F C
No warm lights flickered around him, no blankets there to fold,
F C D7 G
Nothing but the howling wind and the driving rain so cold.
F C F C
When he heard a whistle blowing in a dreamy kind of way,
F C G C
The hobo seemed contented, for he smiled there where he lay.
verse 3
C G C
Ho-o-bo-o Bill.
F C F C
Outside the rain was falling on that lonely boxcar door,
F C D7 G
But the little form of Hobo Bill lay still upon the floor.
F C F C
While the train sped through the darkness and the raging storm outside,
F C G C
No one knew that Hobo Bill was taking his last ride.
WHISTLE SOUNDS
C G C
verse 4
C F C F C
It was early in the morning when they raised the hobo?s head.
F C D7 G
The smile still lingered on his face but Hobo Bill was dead.
F C F C
There was no mother?s longing to soothe his weary soul,
F C G C
For he was just a railroad bum who died out in the cold.
WHISTLE SOUNDS