Chords + Lyrics | Long Train Runnin’
Intro
||: Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) :|| x3
| Gm7 (Dm7) | Dm7 :||
Verse 1
| Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
Down around the corner, half a mile from here.
| Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
You see them long trains runnin’, and you watch them disappear.
| Cm7 Cm6 | Cm6 | Gm7 (Dm7) |Gm7 (Dm7) |
Without love, where would you be now?
| Eb | Gm/D D7 | Gm7 (Dm7) |Gm7 (Dm7) |
Without love.
Verse 2
You know I saw Miss Lucy, down along the tracks.
She lost her home and her family and she won’t be coming back.
Without love, where would you be right now?
Without love.
Verse 3
| Gm7 N.C Gm Dm7 | Gm7 N.C Gm Dm7 |
Well, the Illinois central and the Southern Central Freight.
| Gm7 N.C Gm Dm7 | Gm7 N.C Gm Dm7 |
Got to keep on pushin’, mama, you know they’re runnin’ late.
| Cm7 Cm6 | Cm6 | Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
Without love, where would you be now-na-na-now?
| Eb | Gm/D D7 | Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
Without love.
Solo
| Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
| Cm7 Cm6 | Cm6 | Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
| Eb | Gm/D D7 | Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 Dm7 |
Verse 4 (as verse 3)
Well, the Illinois Central and the Southern Central Freight.
Got to keep on pushin’ mama, ’cause you know they’re runnin’ late.
Without love, where would you be now?
Without love.
Verse 5 (as verse 3)
Well, pistons keep on churnin’ and the wheels go ’round and ’round.
And the steel rails are cold and hard on the mountains they go down.
Without love, where would you be right now?
| Eb | Gm/D D7 | Cm | Cm |
Without love ooh, where would you be now?
Outro
||: Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) :||
Mmm, got to get you, baby, baby, won’t you move it down?
Won’t you move it down? Baby, baby, baby, baby, won’t you move it down?
When the big train run, when the train is movin’ on, I got to keep on movin’.
Keep on movin’, won’t you keep on movin’? Gonna keep on movin’.
Long Train Runnin’ Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Long Train Runnin’. I’ve used stem separation to extract the guitar while keeping the drums, bass, keys, harmonica, and vocals intact.
In the second backing track, the vocals are removed but the chords remain, so you can solo—more on this later.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar to 438Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
There’s plenty happening in the chord progression of The Doobie Brothers’ Long Train Runnin’. Let’s break it down, starting with the intro.
The main chord riff opens the tune with Gm7, followed by a quick Dm7 leading back to Gm7. To show that the Dm7 comes late in the bar, it’s written in brackets above with chords and lyrics.
This riff is repeated seven times before moving to Dm7 for one bar, like this:
||: Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) :|| x3
| Gm7 (Dm7) | Dm7 :||
Verse
Guitar 1 maintains the intro riff for four bars as the verse begins, while Guitar 2 plays a G minor pentatonic arpeggiated lick.
Next, we move to Cm, where the two guitars outline different extensions. Guitar 1 plays Cm7–Cm6, while Guitar 2 plays Cm9.
We then move to Eb – Gm/D – D7, before returning to the Gm7 riff.
It took me decades to spot the Gm/D chord—most players I’ve seen use either Eb or Dsus4 instead.
Here’s the full verse progression:
| Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
| Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
| Cm7 (Cm9) Cm6 | Cm6 (Cm9) | Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
| Eb | Gm/D D7 | Gm7 (Dm7) | Gm7 (Dm7) |
In the TAB further down this guitar lesson, we cover both guitar parts in detail. Once you’ve learned them, you can combine ideas to create a part that works for a single guitarist in a band.
Verse (Stops)
The verse with stops follows the same structure, except for the first four bars. Here, we play Gm7, stop, hit a short Gm, then Dm7, before stopping again on Gm7:
||: Gm7 N.C Gm Dm7 :||
Ritardando
At the end of the final verse, there’s a ritardando (gradual slowing down). Instead of returning to the main riff after D7, we move to Cm and play a lick (see TAB for details), here are the chords:
| Eb | Gm/D D7 | Cm | Cm |
Outro
The outro features multiple guitar layers playing the chord vamp introduced in the intro. Having studied both parts, you’ve got several options for how to approach this in a band setting.
To keep things tight, bring this chord chart to the gig.
Long Train Runnin’ Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
You can download my chord chart, share it with your bandmates, and point out that the chord after Eb is actually Gm/D—saving the day in the process.
Here are the files as a PDF and for iReal Pro:
Long Train Runnin’ | TAB
Let’s break it down section by section, starting with the intro. Here’s Guitar 1:
Guitar 2 is very similar, but with a few key differences:
- No muted strums, giving it a cleaner feel
- The final chord is a min7
Verse
The verse begins in a similar way before moving to Cm, with fewer muted strums overall.
Over Cm, Guitar 1 moves between Cm7 and Cm6, then returns to the Gm vamp, now with more muted strums to add energy.
Next comes what can best be described as a turnaround, before returning to the Gm7 chord vamp.
That Gm/D is crucial—many players miss this particular chord.
Here’s what Guitar 2 does:
- Instead of the chord vamp, it plays a tight minor pentatonic single-note riff
- Over Cm, it uses Cm9 rather than Cm7–Cm6
- For the turnaround, short stabs work well to contrast Guitar 1
- Then it returns to the minor pentatonic vamp
The stops replace the opening Gm7 vamp, before returning to the standard verse feel.
Ritardando
The ritardando at the end of the final verse lands on Cm, followed by a lick before heading into the outro vamp.
Outro
The outro features multiple layered guitar parts on the original recording. As the only guitarist in your band, mix elements from both parts, using this as your foundation:
Once you’ve got all this under your fingers, jam along with the backing tracks above. For soloing, use the scales and backing track covered below.
Soloing over Long Train Runnin’
If you remove the vocals from the original recording, you’ve got an excellent backing track for practising your solos.
Start with these blanket scales:
- G minor pentatonic
- G minor blues scale
- G Conspirian
- G Aeolian
Once that feels comfortable, begin thinking in terms of modes, aiming to target key notes. Over Cm, highlight the minor 3rd, 9th, and 6th as you play C Dorian.
For Eb, Lydian fits naturally—focus on the 3rd, major 7th, and #4 to bring out the Lydian sound.
Finally, try using G Dorian over Gm. Technically, it’s not “correct”, but it works beautifully. When you move to Cm and C Dorian, only one note changes—E becomes Eb.
This is the real advantage of understanding modes: you can bend the rules and create tension in a musical way, rather than sounding like you’ve made a mistake.
Long Train Runnin’ Chords: Continue Learning
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