Am7              C           G               F
Well, I met him in Minnesota. He was dark and overcast,
     Am7                 C
with long grey hair and eyes that stared
G
through me like I was glass.
F                       Am7
I asked, "Where are you going to?"
   G                             F
He said, "I'm the wind, I'm just blowin' through".
     Am7                     C              G*
Then he lit up a cigarette and began to talk:
         Am7                    C
"See the doctors told me that my body won't hold me,
   G                      F
my lungs are turning black.
     Am7                        C
Been Lucky Strike's fool since I was at school,
           G
now there ain't no turning back.
     F                 Am7            G                         F
They can't tell me how long I've got, maybe months, but maybe not.
       Am7                  C                 G
So I'm taking this bike and riding to New York.

         Dm                Am7                  G
'Cause I wanna see my grand-daughter one last time
        Dm                 Am7
Want to hold her close and feel her tiny
C                    G
Heartbeat next to mine
      Dm                   Am7
Wanna see my son and the man he's become
C                           G
Tell him I'm sorry for the things I've done
        F                   Am7   G
And I'd do it if I had to walk
        F                    G                  Am7
Oh, I'm taking this bike and riding to New York


            Am7            C           G             F
Through the forests of Wisconsin, that I knew as a boy
           Am7          C                G
Past the skyline of Chicago, 'round the lakes of Illinois
F                  Am7
I lay my head in a motel bed
         G                       F
When my back get sore and my eyes turn red
    Am7                C              G
And listen to the trucks roll past my door
             Am7         C         G                    Am7
Through the fields of Ohio as the sunshine paints them gold
     Am7             C           G
I'll run just like a river runs, rapid, quick and cold
F                   Am7           G               F
Fly through Pennsylvania and the Jersey turn-pike tolls
Am7               C             G
I won't stop 'til I get to New York

         Dm             Am7              G
'Cause I wanna see my grand-son one last time
      Dm             Am7          C              G
Wanna see his eyes sparkling and stare back into mine
       Dm                      Am7
Now my time is short, I wanna see my daughter
C                              G
Tell her I'm sorry for the things I taught her
        F                   Am7     G
And I'd do it if I had to walk
        F                        G                Am7
Oh, I'm taking this bike and I'm riding to New York


        Dm            Am7                G
And I'd go up to the churchyard one last time
    Dm                     Am7
Lay flowers down for the woman who gave me
    C                  G
The best years of my life
        F                  Am7    G
And I'd do it if I had to walk
          F                  Am7    G
Yeah, I'd do it if I had to walk
    F                    G                 Am7
I'm taking this bike and riding to New York