Chords for Tom Rush - Panama Limited

_ I learned this from a guy named Booker White, who was a very large [F#] blues player, who was
[A] a wonderful slide guitar player, and he had a whole bunch of train songs.
[E] _ _ _ _
And this is kind of an amalgam of a bunch of _ Booker White's train [A] songs.
[E] _ _ _
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This is a song about a train called the Panama Limited.
[A] _
_ _ [E] _ _ The Panama Limited's a train that runs from Chicago _ down to New Orleans.
[F#m] _
[E] _ _ _ _ It's what they call a special streamline train.
That means she's fast.
_ That train's so fast, _ the hobos don't mess with that [A] train.
_ _ [E] They just stand by the track with their head in their hands. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ And I had a girl, she was leaving one morning on that train, _ and
she got up singing and crying.
_ _ Said, Dad, _ _ [B] _ [E] you know I hate to go.
_ [B] _ _ Hey, [A] _
hey, [E] hey.
_ _ _ [B] _ _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ I said, I know you do, babe. _
_ _ [A] _ [E] _ _ Now we're going on down to Union Depot to catch the Panama Limited. _ _
And out in the distance, she heard a local freight blow.
She asked me, was that the Panama Limited?
I said, no.
_ _ I said, babe, the train you heard blows north of town.
Sounds like this.
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_ _ _ _ [A] _ [E] _ _ _
_ _ The Panama Limited, you hear her off in the mountains to the south.
She sounds more lonesome. _
Sound like this. _ _ _ _ _ _
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_ _ _ _ _ Well, my girl, she said, what time is the train timer?
I said, I don't know anything about train [A] timings.
[E] _
I'm just hanging out trying to pick up a few dimes.
And she jumped up singing and crying.
_ _ She said, Dad, _ [B] _ [A] it's all right the way [E] you turned me down.
_ [B] _ _ [A] Hey, _ _ [E] mama ain't got a dime. _ _ _ _
_ _ And she turned her back on me and went running down the hill towards Union Depot. _ _ _
[A] _ _ [E] _ _ And I stood there a [A] minute.
[E] _ _ I went running after her.
I was going to beg forgiveness for the words I said.
_ _ I went running _ and running.
And I got down to the big stone steps going up to Union Depot.
I lift up shoes way up on top of the steps.
I called her name.
_ _ She heard me call her name.
And she turned and called back to me over her left shoulder. _
Too late, _ _ [B] _ [A] too late, [E] too late, too late.
_ [B] _ _ _
[A] _ _ Hey, [E] mama gonna quit you now. _ _ _ _ _ _
And just when she said that, you know, _ _ you could hear the Panama [A] Limited blow.
_ [E] _ 37 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. _ _ _ _
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_ Now, my gal, she's running across the depot up to the depot agent's window.
And she asked him what time train time was. _
He said, go put your head on the track. _
When you hear the rails singing, you know train time won't be long.
And she did.
She went out across the platform, kneeled down on a cross tie,
and put her pretty head up on that cold steel rail. _
She could hear the Panama Limited coming down.
_ [A] _
[E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ You heard that rail, you know, she jumped up singing and crying. _ _
Said, daddy, _ [B] _ you [A] know I [E] hate to go.
_ [B] _ _ Hey, [A] _ _ _ [E] mama ain't got a home.
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_ And she said that, you know. _ _
I went over and stood up behind her and put my arms around [F#m] her.
_ [A] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
We stood there a little while. _ _
Pretty soon the Panama Limited's on the outside of town.
Now, coming down to [A] Memphis, [E] _ _ you got a downgrade, you got a crossing.
_ To make that crossing, an engineer's got to cut down on his air brakes.
You can hear that down in the depot.
My gal and me were down in Union Depot _ with our arms around each other.
_ _ Panama Limited hit that crossing.
She cut down, began to squall.
[A] _ [E] _ _ _
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_ _ _ My gal, she heard those brakes.
She jumped up one last time.
Said, daddy, _ _ [B] you [A] know I [E] hate to go.
_ [B] _ _ _ [A] Hey, _ _ [E] may never see your face no more. _ _
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_ _ _ [A] _ [E] _ [A] _ _ _
[E] The Panama [A] Limited's coming around the bend.
[E] _ _
_ _ You can see the engineer, he's sitting way up in this big tall engine.
He's just leaning out to watch his drive wheel roll.
_ _ He's rolling fast.
[A] _ [E] _ _
_ _ He's got his one hand outside the cab and he's waving at all the little kiddies in the station.
They're all jumping around and waving back.
_ _ He's got his other hand up inside the cab on the bell roll.
_ _ And all the time he's riding her in, and all the time he's slowing her down,
that bell keeps on toning. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
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_ _ [A] _ _ _ [E] _ _ _
_ _ _ He's going everywhere but home. _
[A] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _ _