Grateful Dead Music Forum

ELKO 
By Railroad Earth 

Key of G (or Gm…)? 
D mixolydian scale? 


INTRO 


VERSE 1 & 2 

Pull in from the desert road 
Pop your wagon, drop your load 
And shut her down 
Poor boy, you’re bound to die 

Been a long hot desert ride 
Wha (???), such big river devils slide, (???) 
In Elko 
Poor boy, you’re bound to die 


CHORUS: 

Poor boys and gamblers, 
Row dogs and ramblers 
Shuttin’ her down for the night 
Winners and losers, 
Hookers and boozers 
Draw like a bug to the light 


JAM OVER 2 VERSES 


VERSE 3 & 4 

Grab a whisky from the bar 
Sit down to your deck of cards 
And throw your chips in 
Poor boy, you’re bound to die 

Emerald Misty, Violet Blue 
Got a winkin’ eye on you 
And all night to wait 
Poor boy, you’re bound to die 

CHORUS: 

Poor boys and gamblers, 
Row dogs and ramblers 
Shuttin’ her down for the night 
Winners and losers, 
Hookers and cruisers 
Crawl in through the Elko night 


INTRO RIFF x1 


BRIDGE: 

Oh Lord, oh lord 
Been so long on this dusty road, on papa 
I need a leg to stand on 
I need a card, I need a card 
Hit me Lord, but not too hard, oh mama 
I need a winning hand 


INTRO (full) 


JAM OVER 8 VERSES 


VERSE 5 & 6 

Morning coffee, steak and eggs 
Stretch your legs and get down the road 
And roll in 
Poor boy, you’re bound to die 

She’s a camp town only??? on the UP line 
Always shows up right on time 
In Elko 
Poor boy, you’re bound to die 


CHORUS: 

Poor boys and gamblers, 
Row dogs and ramblers 
Shuttin’ her down for the night 
Winners and losers, 
Hookers and boozers 
Draw like a bug to the light 

Poor boys and gamblers, 
Row dogs and ramblers 
Shuttin’ her down for the night 
Winners and losers, 
Hookers and cruisers 
Crawl in through the Elko night 


BRIDGE: x2 

Oh Lord, oh lord 
Been so long on this dusty road, on mama 
I need a lick of fin? 
I need a card, I need a card 
Hit me Lord, but not too hard, oh papa 
I need a winning hand 


RIFF OVER CHORUS, end with BASS ON INTRO x1 



Main Riff/Intro 

e ---------------------------| 
B ---5^7--5---------------5--| 
G -----------7-----4—4^5-----| 
D --------------7------------| 
A ---------------------------| 
E ---------------------------| 

e -----------------------------------------| 
B --5^7--5---------------------------------| 
G ----------7-----4-4^5----4-4^5-----------| 
D -------------7--------7--------7p5-------| 
A -----------------------------------7p5---| 
E -----------------------------------------| 



For the "poor boys and gamblers, row dogs and ramblers...." part it sounds like the single notes (that he is singing at least) are: 


F#   F#   F#  G   A      Bm  Bm   A   F#  Em 
Poor boys and gam-blers, row dogs and ram-blers 
G    G    G   A    G   Em  D 
Shut-ting her down for the night 


The F# may be an F#m or even an F#dim (though I don't think so), but it's really bugging me that I can't figure it out. It's probably very easy and I'm just making it a lot harder than it should be, but any help would be great