roger miller
Ever since I was a boy, this 1965 crossover hit has resided in memory. The song about a happy hobo rapidly became a standard, and this is probably the reason for not playing it myself until recently ... added the fact that it's hard to snap fingers while playing guitar :-D ... AND that I've never seen any romantic in being a bum.
Songwriter, singer, guitarist, fiddler, drummer, TV star AND humorist Roger Dean Miller(1936-1992) recorded his career's biggest hit 3th of November 1964, after struggling for six weeks with the lyrics. Pretty strange for a man known for writing songs in five minutes.
trailers for sale or rent
rooms to let : fifty cents
no phone • no pool • no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
ah but : two hours of pushin' broom
buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
king of the road
third boxcar midnight train
destination : Bangor, Maine
old worn out suits and shoes
I don't pay no union dues
I smoke old stogies I have found
short but not too big around
I'm a man of means by no means
king of the road
I know every engineer on every train
all of their children and all of their names
and every handout in every town
and every lock that ain't locked
when no one's around I sing ...
trailers for sale or rent
rooms to let : fifty cents
no phone • no pool • no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
ah but : two hours of pushin' broom
buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
king of the road
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
E F#m trailers for sale or rent B7 E rooms to let : fifty cents E F#m no phone no pool no pets B7 I ain't got no cigarettes E F#m ah but : two hours of pushin' broom B7 E buys an eight by twelve four-bit room E7 A I'm a man of means by no means B7 E king of the road [with the break, the song *should be* transposed,
even though it's not strictly nescessary, and go like this] ... F Gm I know every engineer on every train C7 F all of their children and all of their names F Bb and every handout in every town C7 and every lock that ain't locked C7 when no one's around I sing ... F Gm trailers for sale or rent C7 F rooms to let : fifty cents F Gm no phone no pool no pets C7 I ain't got no cigarettes F Gm ah but : two hours of pushin' broom C7 F buys an eight by twelve four-bit room F7 Bb I'm a man of means by no means C7 F king of the road
