| D | A D | D | D A |
| D | A D |
(yodelin' locomotive)

[Verse 1]
D
Oh, I had to quit railroading, we didn't agree at all
G                D                        A              D
There was always something wrong with the Southern Cannonball

[Verse 2]
                       G                D
I once loved a maiden, she was fair and tall
    G              D               E              A
Her father was the engineer on the Southern Cannonball

[Verse 3]
    D                                 D/G            D
She promised she would wed me, in the merry month of June
    G               D                A        D
And go to the Magic Islands to spend our honeymoon

[Break]
| D A7 | D | G | D |
| A7/D | D |
(yodel)

[Verse 4]
                                           G                 D
At last my dreams were shattered, when she put me off with a stall
    E/A                  D             E              A
She said the whistle was broken on the Southern Cannonball

[Verse 5]
  D                              D/G
I loved this girl so dearly so I fixed the whistle back
    G              D                       D/A
The next thing she told me, the caboose is off of the track

[Break]
| D | D | G | D |
| D A |
(yodel)

[Verse 6]
D                                G                    D
For days and nights I labored to get it back with the train
    G             D                      E               D
And all was ready for the high ball, the bell refused to ring

[Break]
| D A | D |
(yodel)

[Verse 7]
                                G                   D
I fixed the bell in a jiffy and called the preacher done
    E                    D              A                D
Who married us in an old boxcar for the train refused to run

[Outro]
| D | A D | D A7 | D |
(yodel)