The picking at the beginning goes something like this.
Basically it's the chord with the top e open, picked with a suitable bass note.
Play the pattern D D, G G, D D, A G for the 1st verse (or play it as a short intro then strum).
D D G G A
e|--------0---------0------------0------------0---------------0--------|
B|-----3----3----3----3------3-----3------3-----3---------2------2-----|
G|----2--2------2--2-------0---0--------0---0----------2----2----------|
D|--0----------0-------------------------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------------------0----------------|
E|-----------------------3------------3--------------------------------|
Note: You can also freely interchange A and Am when playing this, see what sounds best to your ear.
[Verse 1]
D
Well I was born up north of Great Slave, 1898,
G
and I rode near all my life on a ranch near Devil's Gate.
D
And I've seen this world about me bend and flip and change.
Am G
Hey it feels like rain -- that's a thundercloud.
D
Well I've been called a coward, but I've seen two World Wars.
G
And I lost my son Virgil, a Korean reward.
D
And my Lucy died last summer. You ask me if I cry,
Am G
Hell, I've shed tears: all over this ground,
G A D
they're falling from these blue Alberta skies.
[Chorus]
D A
We're gonna ride forever,
Em G
You can't keep horsemen in a cage.
D Am
Should the angels call, well it's only then
G
We'll pull in the reins.
[Verse 2]
D
Now they tell me I'm an old man, they tell me I am blind.
G
They took my driver's license, this house ain't far behind.
D
I said "Jump back all you big suits, you got something wrong
Am G
'cause I ain't gone. No I ain't gone."
D
I am still breathing, and I still have my pride.
G
And I have my memories, your life it never dies.
D
Like the wind that blows in thunder, like the stallion on the fly
Am G
I got it all, and I'm standing tall
G Am D
Underneath these blue Alberta skies.
[Chorus]
D A
We're gonna ride forever,
Em G
You can't keep horsemen in a cage.
D Am
Should the angels call, well it's only then
G
We'll pull in the reins.
[Verse 3]
D
So I say to all you old men: Don't let yourselves get broke.
G
If you think the world's gone crazy and it's scratching at your throat
D
it's time to dust off that old saddle and get it on a horse.
A G
Kick up your spurs: we're gonna run like stink
G A D
We're gonna tear across these blue Alberta skies.
[Chorus]
D A
We're gonna ride forever,
Em G
You can't keep horsemen in a cage.
D Am
Should the angels call, well it's only then
G
We'll pull in the reins.