I've Been Working on the Railroad
Guitar Tabs and Chords

I've Been Working on the Railroad - guitar tabs and chords in two different keys.

Though this is a traditional and old song, don't assume your students have heard this song before.

But being easy to learn, except for one surprising chord, they will be singing it in no time!

Here it is in the key of G, the version that has a tricky new chord (B).

Scroll down the page for the links to the free printable PDFs.

I've Been Working on the Railroad guitar tabs

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

You see that B major chord at the end of line three?  It might stop your students right in their tracks.

The A7 chord might be a new one as well, but that one is EASY.

So, to approach the new B major chord:

A major chord on guitar
  • I have my students make an "A" chord, then 
  • swap out their fingering to leave index finger free.  Then, 
  • it's barre chord time!
  • We slide the chord "up" one fret (meaning, closer to the sound hole, further from the tuning pegs)
  • Lay the index finger down across the top fret: now we have the chord of Bb. (We could call it A# as well; but tradition and a couple of other reasons dictate that Bb is the best name.)
How to make a B major chord on the guitar
  • Slide up one more fret.  Now the index finger should be laying across the second fret. 

If the rest of the fingers have behaved and stayed in place, then we have achieved a B chord!

But your young students won't be happy.  Unless you have been working with them on barre chords, this may be a huge stumbling block instead of a challenge!

Therefore, I ask them, 

"So do you want to play the barre chord, or just the 4-string chord for now?" 

Laaaaa!  The clouds part, and light is seen.  Turns out that the 4-string chord is perfectly acceptable to them.  

Still not VERY easy, still not very PRETTY... but it's a start.

Now here's page two; it uses just the three main chords. 

But because it only uses the I, the IV, and the V chords, this seems like an opportunity for a new challenge. 

Therefore, I ask the kids to tell me WHAT those 3 main chords will be, if we are in the key of G.  

Dinah won't you blow your horn sheet music

Holding up the five fingers of one hand, we count up, "G, A, B, C, D..."  If G is "1", then C and D are the 4 chord and the 5 chord. 

Our trial run through page two is GUESSING which chords are played where, as we sing it through without the sheet music.  They usually do pretty well!

I like for my guitarists, even the young ones, to have an idea of how chords are built.  

 Therefore, we frequently find ourselves over at the piano keyboard or using a piano keyboard paper chart, especially when working on notereading or building chords.

The layout of the piano keys is the "Rosetta Stone" for musicians.

The key of C is the other option for this guitar song:

The Railroad song, in the key of C

The only problem is... yes, that darned F chord.  It's so hard to make it sound good!  But PRACTICE makes, well, PALATABLE.  Perfection will come!

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah sheet music

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

When I was a girl, we used to pile into the back of my grandparents' milk delivery truck and head "out the road" for a fun day at a local swim hole.

Together with lots of root beer, chips, hot dogs, floatable inner tubes and COUSINS, we'd have a blast. 

Half the fun was singing silly songs on the thirty-minute drive out there.  We'd sing "My gal's a corker; she's a New Yorker...", "Found a Peanut," and a few other favorites.

I've Been Working on the Railroad was the one I knew best, and remembered all the words to!


Here are the links to the free sheet music with guitar tabs:


Download I've Been Working on the Railroad guitar tabs in the key of G


Download Railroad song with guitar tabs in the key of C


Dianna:
Your website is a light in the darkness. THANK YOU for all you do in helping to spread the love of music. It matters!

Recent Articles

  1. Easy Piano Sheet Music Swan Lake -Beginners & Intermediate Pianists!

    Swan Lake easy piano music
    Easy piano sheet music Swan Lake, lovely solos & duets, with lyrics in the beginner arrangements for dreamy students who love imagining. New arrangements!

    Read More

  2. The Wellerman Sheet Music: Easy Piano & Lead Sheets!

    Guitar tabs for Wellerman
    The Wellerman: Tabs, sheet music & lyrics for piano, guitar, & more! Such a fun, high-energy song to sing & play - learn it fast with letters in the notes!

    Read More

  3. Christmas Carol Lyrics Song from the Bible: Free SATB and Guitar Tab

    Christmas story song
    Christmas carol lyrics from the Bible and an old-fashioned carol-like tune combine in this free Christmas song for SATB choir or a solo vocalist with guitar.

    Read More

  4. Traditional Irish Song "Galway Piper" with 3 Piano Arrangements!

    Irish song
    Traditional Irish songs tend to be either bouncy, or tender & sweet. Galway Piper falls into the bouncy, fun-to-play camp!

    Read More

  5. "Rose" Titanic Music for Piano: the Prettiest Titanic Song?

    Rose Titanic piano music
    "Rose" Titanic song is perhaps the most beautiful of all the music from the Titanic movie. See and listen to a lovely piano arrangement!

    Read More

Interested in songs from the Bible for your students or church?  Check out my other website, SingTheBibleStory.com!

SingTheBibleStory.com clickable logo link

Songs Old & Songs New

All the first-year material I give my beginner students. 

Piano keyboard sheets, scales, chords, note-reading exercises, and over 256 pages of music!

The Story of Esther - a Bible opera!

Queen Esther in the Bible

This beautiful song book for piano & voice "Esther, For Such a Time as This",  available as a digital downloadtells the riveting story of the time when  Jews in ancient Persia faced a foe named Haman, and how a  brave young queen risked her life to save her people.

A good choice for a singing story-teller, an operatic group, a short theater production, or a class of children!

This book is also available from Amazon as a paperback.


Just the Black Keys, a piano song book for young beginners.

Just the Black Keys

This book is available as a digital download  from this site.  Visit this page to see some free examples from the book.

It is also available from Amazon as a paperback!

This is the perfect easy start for little pianists.

And when they start reading white-key notes on the staff, this is a fun easy resource to say each week, "Choose a new black-key song at home this week and figure it out to show me next lesson!"  They will be spending more time at the piano.

The Adventures of Tonsta, Volume 1, is a book about a young boy travelling over mountains and fjords from village to village, encountering trolls and helping folk in distress.

The Adventures of Tonsta

A perfect read aloud storybook
for little boys or girls. 

The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble.  

With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes.

Lots of trolls in this book - including one who gives him a Christmas gift!

Available at Amazon


About the Author

Dana Thynes

Hi, I'm Dana!  (Say that like "Anna".)  I'm the owner of Music-for-Music-Teachers.com, and a newer site, SingTheBibleStory.com.

Like some of you, I've been playing the piano since early childhood, and have added a few other instruments along the way, plus an interest in arranging and composing music.

You can find out more about me and the reason for this website at my About Me page.