Mesabi

C  G  Am    F  G  C F C

[Verse 1]
N.C.                 C     G F
Have you ever seen Duluth
                               C          G F
When the Great Lake waves were pounding?
                       Am
There must be some way out of there
                         G
You might end up lost or drowning
                      C                 G F
And the polkas at the Polish dance hall
                     C       G F
And the carnivals of spring
                                Am
And the rock and roll on that upright piano
                        G
Didn't the kid make the high school rafters ring?

[Verse 2]
    Am
The kid heard Howlin' Wolf
                   F
Every night on the radio
           Am
From those airwaves blasting all the way
         Em
Nogales, Mexico
        Am
And the duck-tail boys in Saint Cloud
         G
Polished up their chords of fame
        F                        C
And the armoury show where Buddy Holly sang
     D                   G
'The Learning of the Game'

[Chorus]
N.C.              C       G F
Some things never change
                   C      G F
On the Mesabi Iron Range
                          Am
Where the north country's rain screams
                              G
"Don't make me do the work my father did"
                 F
Bethlehem of the troubadour kid

[Instrumental]
G Am   F   Am   G

[Verse 2]
                          C          G F
Have you heard the desert wind blow
                       C        G F
'Cross the City of the Angels?
                       Am
I was that kid playing football
                                   G
In a Catholic school, deep down in Mexican town
                        C       G F
Richie Valens sang, 'La Bamba'
                         C    G F
It's eighty miles to Tijuana
                    Am
I stole my parent's car one day
                                        G
Never found the dark-eyed ladies in the cowboy songs

[Verse 4]
       Am
Just a kid listening
                     F
To my Uncle George's record player
          Am
Where the great vinyl wheel spun 'round
    Em
Its holy prayer
    Am
And steel guitars in Telecaster bars
   G
Of San Joaquin towns
         F                      C
And the 'Don't Think Twice It's Alright'
  D         G
Mesabi Holy Ground

[Chorus]
N.C.              C       G F
Some things never change
                               C     G F
It's still the learning of the game
                              Am
You might end up on Fifth and Main
                                    G
Please don't make me go out like my father did
                      F
I wanna sing like the troubadour kid

[Chorus]
                  C       G F
Some things never change
                   C      G F
On the Mesabi Iron Range
                          Am
Where the north country's rain screams
                                     G
"Please don't make me do the work my father did"
                 F
Bethlehem of the troubadour kid

[Outro]
                  C       G F
Some things never change
                  C       G F
Some things never change
                  Am
Yeah, some things never change