E


[Verse 1]
E                    A
Just a ragged kid in overalls
   B                  E
He thumbed a ride one day
          A                            B
He said, "Anywhere you're headed on my way."
          E                  A
But as we passed by Big Al's drive-in
    B             E
His eyes began to flash
       A                         B
He was leavin' Rapid City mighty fast


[Chorus]
            A
He said, "I hope to God she finds
             E
The good-bye letter that I wrote her
        B
But the mail don't move to fast
         A               E
In Rapid City, South Dakota."


[Instrumental]
E B A E


[Verse 2]
E                        A
Well, he left her just a blanket
   B             E
Of snow upon the farm
    A                                    B
And that don't keep your conscience very warm
        E                         A
He said his friends were too darn country
        B               E
And his pa was too damn mean
          A                          B
And there ain't no money pumpin' gasoline


[Interlude]
        A
And her gentle eyes, the merchandise
   E
Of dreams the peddler sold her
      B                       A               E
As he left her there in Rapid City, South Dakota


[Instrumental]
E B A E


[Verse 3]
E                     A
Now the reason he was goin'
  B                  E
I ain't sure I could say
         A                       B
Might've been the rodeo in Santa Fe
           E            A
"There's a doctor in chicago
  B                  E
I know she'll be all right."
   A                                  B
He told himself as he stared into the night


[Chorus]
                A
And he said, "I hope to God she finds
             E
The good-bye letter that I wrote her
    B
But the mail don't move so fast
         A               E
In Rapid City, South Dakota."


[Outro]
            A
And all her people treatin' her
          E
Just like they never knowed her
          B
Lord, the winter's passin' slow
         A               E
In Rapid City, South Dakota