Talking Columbia
Words and music Woody Guthrie
Released on Columbia River Collection (1988) and The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3; Hard Travelin' (1998)
Capo fret 3
Chords
F:133211
Bb:X13331
C/G:332010
Intro
| | F Bb C/G F |(x2)
|--------------------------|--------------------------------|
|-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2----------|----1-------3----------------1--|
|-----------------3--1-2---|------2---3---3----0------------|
|------------------------3-|--3--3-------3----2--2-----3----|
|--------------------------|---------1-1-----3--------------|
|--------------------------|-1-1----------------3----1------|
F Bb
I was down ‘long the river, just settin' on a rock,
C/G F
Lookin' at the boats in Bonneville Lock.
Bb
And the gate swings open and the barge sails in,
C/G F
Toots her whistle, she's gone a gin'!
Bb C/G F
Galosine goin' up, wheat comin' down.
Well, I fills up my hat brim, drunk a little taste,
Thought ‘bout the river goin' to waste,
Thought ‘bout the dust, thought ‘bout the sand,
Thought ‘bout the people, thought ‘bout the land.
Folks runnin' round all over creation,
Just lookin' for a little place... somthing to do.
Water come a splashin' throught the dam,
Trickling down across the land,
Powerhouse sings a generator whines,
Down the hill comes the big power lines.
'lectricity runnin' all around, cheaper than rainwater.
Lots of folks around the country, politicians and such,
Said the old comlumbia wouldn't never amount to much.
Fellas back east are doin' a lot o' talkin',Some of ‘em balkin' and some of ‘em squawkin'
But with all their figgerin' and all their books, Well, they just didn't know them raw Chinooks.
It's a good river.. just needs a couple 'a more dozen big power dams scattered up and down it.. keepin' folks busy
Pulled out my pencil, I scribbled this song,
I figgered all these salmon just couldn't be wrong.
Them salmon fish, they're mighty shrewd,
They got senators, politicians, too!
Just like a President, they run ever' four years.
Yes, them folks back east are doin' a lot o' talkin',
Some of ‘em balkin' and some of ‘em squawkin'
But with all their figgerin' and all their books,
Well, they just didn't know them raw Chinooks.
Salmon! That's a good river!
Just watch this river though pretty soon
Ever'body's goin' to be changin' their tune.
The big Grand Coulee and Bonneville Dam
Ah gonna need lots more of them scattered all over the land.
Just a drop in the bucket need dams at yumatilla rapids, ???, foster creek and rocky reach and arlington and ??? and a thousand other factories.
Turnin out everything from fertilizer to atomic bedrooms and plastic trimmings and everything.. ough'ta be plastic
Well the folks need houses and stuff to eat,
And the folks need the metals and the folks need the wheat.
Folks need water and power dams
And the folks need the people and the people need the land.
This whole big pacific north-west up in here ough'ta be run.. way I see it..
By e-lec-a-tri-ci-ty
And this here same electricity ough'ta jumpa and crackle and sparkle and jump 5 lengths around the whole world.
Words and music Woody Guthrie
Released on Columbia River Collection (1988) and The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3; Hard Travelin' (1998)
Columbia River Collection Version
Capo fret 3
Chords
F:133211
Bb:X13331
C/G:332010
Intro
| | F Bb C/G F |(x2)
|--------------------------|--------------------------------|
|-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2----------|----1-------3----------------1--|
|-----------------3--1-2---|------2---3---3----0------------|
|------------------------3-|--3--3-------3----2--2-----3----|
|--------------------------|---------1-1-----3--------------|
|--------------------------|-1-1----------------3----1------|
F Bb
I was down ‘long the river, just settin' on a rock,
C/G F
Lookin' at the boats in Bonneville Lock.
Bb
And the gate swings open and the barge sails in,
C/G F
Toots her whistle, she's gone a gin'!
Bb C/G F
Galosine goin' up, wheat comin' down.
Well, I fills up my hat brim, drunk a little taste,
Thought ‘bout the river goin' to waste,
Thought ‘bout the dust, thought ‘bout the sand,
Thought ‘bout the people, thought ‘bout the land.
Folks runnin' round all over creation,
Just lookin' for a little place... somthing to do.
Water come a splashin' throught the dam,
Trickling down across the land,
Powerhouse sings a generator whines,
Down the hill comes the big power lines.
'lectricity runnin' all around, cheaper than rainwater.
Lots of folks around the country, politicians and such,
Said the old comlumbia wouldn't never amount to much.
Fellas back east are doin' a lot o' talkin',Some of ‘em balkin' and some of ‘em squawkin'
But with all their figgerin' and all their books, Well, they just didn't know them raw Chinooks.
It's a good river.. just needs a couple 'a more dozen big power dams scattered up and down it.. keepin' folks busy
Pulled out my pencil, I scribbled this song,
I figgered all these salmon just couldn't be wrong.
Them salmon fish, they're mighty shrewd,
They got senators, politicians, too!
Just like a President, they run ever' four years.
Yes, them folks back east are doin' a lot o' talkin',
Some of ‘em balkin' and some of ‘em squawkin'
But with all their figgerin' and all their books,
Well, they just didn't know them raw Chinooks.
Salmon! That's a good river!
Just watch this river though pretty soon
Ever'body's goin' to be changin' their tune.
The big Grand Coulee and Bonneville Dam
Ah gonna need lots more of them scattered all over the land.
Just a drop in the bucket need dams at yumatilla rapids, ???, foster creek and rocky reach and arlington and ??? and a thousand other factories.
Turnin out everything from fertilizer to atomic bedrooms and plastic trimmings and everything.. ough'ta be plastic
Well the folks need houses and stuff to eat,
And the folks need the metals and the folks need the wheat.
Folks need water and power dams
And the folks need the people and the people need the land.
This whole big pacific north-west up in here ough'ta be run.. way I see it..
By e-lec-a-tri-ci-ty
And this here same electricity ough'ta jumpa and crackle and sparkle and jump 5 lengths around the whole world.
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