Greenville Trestle High
intermediate

Greenville Trestle High

Key: E
Chords: 4
Doc Watson

Jam Along

Chord Chart

Verse

E
E7
A
E
E
E
B7
B7
E
E7
A
E
E
B7
E
E

Chorus

A
A
E
E
E
E
B7
B7
E
E7
A
E
E
B7
E
E
Chords used: A B7 E E7

Lyrics

I remember as a boy how in wonderment and joy I’d watch the trains as they’d go by And the whistle’s lonesome sound you could here from miles around As they rolled across that Greenville Trestle high.
But the whistles don’t sound like they used to Lately not many trains go by Hard times across the land mean no work for a railroad man And the Greenville Trestle now don’t seem so high.
On the riverbank I’d stand with a cane pole in my hand And watch the freight trains up against the sky With the black smoke trailing back as they moved along the track That runs across that Greenville Trestle high. When the lonesome whistles whined I’d get rambling on my mind Lord I wish they still sounded that way As I turned to head for home Lord she’d rumble low and long Toward the sunset at the close of day.

Demo Videos

About This Song

Greenville Trestle High is a signature song from the legendary flatpicker Doc Watson, who learned it from his mother-in-law. This murder ballad tells the dark story of a man who throws his unfaithful lover from a railroad trestle, and Doc's powerful delivery made it a classic of his repertoire.

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