F                       Bb                      F
Hundred lists of reasons I keep 'round
Bb
Why I never had a family
F
Why I couldn't settle down
Bb                                              F               Dm
Why I'd sooner in the mirror see a hobo lookin' low
Gm                              Dm              Bb                      F
But the reasons now escape me as I walk the iron road

[Verse 2]
F                       Bb                      F
Like a lot of kids I left my boyhood home
Bb                                      F
Worked a little on the railroad, Worked a little travelin' on
Bb                                              F               Dm
Til the closest that I ever got to an address or a phone
Gm                              Dm              Bb                      F
Was the day I spent my last two bits on a one page letter home

[Bridge]
Bb                                      F
At 21 my arches lay down flat
Gm                              Dm
22 I started takin' loans
Bb                                                         Dm
But if the train will come I'll wipe the box car dirt from off my bones
Bb                                                                              F
And I'll curse the wheels that roll me, roll me down that iron road

[Chorus]
Bb               F       A           Bb                                 F
Iron road, iron road, you'll never give up the gold
Gm                              Dm
I spent 24 hours today lookin' back and feelin' low
Bb                                                              F
24 hours of lookin' back can kill you, I've been told

[Verse 3]
F                  Bb                   F
At 60 my dad left his boyhood town
Bb                                              F
Within a year our mother followed him to higher ground
Bb                                              F               Dm 
And I'll be next to join 'em soon as I see that engine roll
Gm                              Dm              Bb                      F
Gonna lay my head on the railroad bed and leave that iron road (2x)