Northwest Passage Chords

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Difficulty:	beginner
Capo:	no capo

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2 contributors total, last edit on Dec 12, 2023

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[Chorus]
        / D        / A
Ah, for / just one / time,
        / G                  / Bm
I would / take the Northwest / Passage
   /  G               / D
To / find the hand of / Franklin,
         / Em               / G
Reaching / for the Beaufort / Sea.
        / D        / A
Tracing / one warm / line,
          / G                / Bm
Through a / land so wide and / savage, and
G                / D   -    A      /  D   / /
Make a Northwest / Passage, to the / sea. / /
 
[Verse 1]
G                 / D
Westward from the / Davis Strait,
     / A                 / Bm
'Tis / there was said to / lie,
    / G                / D
The / sea route to the / Orient,
    / A             /  D
For / which so many / died,
G                / D
Seeking gold and / glory,
        / A                / Bm
Leaving / weathered broken / bones, and
  / G              / D  -   A        / Em       / /
A / long forgotten / lonely cairn of / stones. / /
 
[Chorus]
        / D        / A
Ah, for / just one / time,
        / G                  / Bm
I would / take the Northwest / Passage
   /  G               / D
To / find the hand of / Franklin,
         / Em               / G
Reaching / for the Beaufort / Sea.
        / D        / A
Tracing / one warm / line,
          / G                / Bm
Through a / land so wide and / savage, and
G                / D   -    A      /  D   / /
Make a Northwest / Passage, to the / sea. / /
 
[Verse 2]
      / G                 / D
Three / centuries there - / after,
       / A            / Bm
I take / passage over / land,
       / G                  / D
In the / footsteps of brave / Kelso,
          / A                    / D
Where his / "sea of flowers" be - / gan.
        /  G                / D
Watching / cities rise be - / fore me,
          / A                / Bm
Then be - / hind me sink a - / gain,
     / G             / D
This / tardiest ex - / plorer,
        / A                    / Em
Driving / hard, a - cross the / plains. / /
 
[Chorus]
        / D        / A
Ah, for / just one / time,
        / G                  / Bm
I would / take the Northwest / Passage
   /  G               / D
To / find the hand of / Franklin,
         / Em               / G
Reaching / for the Beaufort / Sea.
        / D        / A
Tracing / one warm / line,
          / G                / Bm
Through a / land so wide and / savage, and
G                / D   -    A      /  D   / /
Make a Northwest / Passage, to the / sea. / /
 
[Verse 3]
    / G                      / D
And / through the night be - / hind the wheel,
    / A                / Bm
The / mileage clicking / west,
  / G                / D
I / think upon Mac - / kenzie,
      / A                / D
David / Thompson, and the / rest,
    / G                    / D
Who / cracked the mountain / ramparts, and
    / A               / Bm
Did / show a path for / me,
   / G                / D   -   A      / Em     / /
To / race the roaring / Fraser, to the / sea.  / /
 
[Chorus]
        / D        / A
Ah, for / just one / time,
        / G                  / Bm
I would / take the Northwest / Passage
   /  G               / D
To / find the hand of / Franklin,
         / Em               / G
Reaching / for the Beaufort / Sea.
        / D        / A
Tracing / one warm / line,
          / G                / Bm
Through a / land so wide and / savage, and
G                / D   -    A      /  D   / /
Make a Northwest / Passage, to the / sea. / /
 
[Verse 4]
    / G            / D
How / then am I so / different,
         / A                      / Bm
From the / first men through this / way,
     / G              / D
Like / them, I left a / settled life,
  / A               / D
I / threw it all a - / way,
   / G                / D
To / seek a Northwest / Passage,
       / A            / Bm
At the / call of many / men,
   / G                   / D   -     A        / Em     / /
To / find there, but the / road back home a - / gain. / /
 
[Chorus]
        / D        / A
Ah, for / just one / time,
        / G                  / Bm
I would / take the Northwest / Passage
   /  G               / D
To / find the hand of / Franklin,
         / Em               / G
Reaching / for the Beaufort / Sea.
        / D        / A
Tracing / one warm / line,
          / G                / Bm
Through a / land so wide and / savage, and
G                / D   -    A      /  D   / /
Make a Northwest / Passage, to the / sea. / /
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Northwest Passage – Stan Rogers

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"Northwest Passage"

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8 comments

The verses are all wrong. When I'm sure of the correct chord progression (I need to listen to the original a few more times to double-check that what I'm playing matches up, although it sounds correct), I'll post a fix.

Agreed. Since Stan sang it acappella, it can be a bit tricky. You have to listen to all of the verses to really get a sense of the chords, as he changes it a bit each time. These aren't perfect, but they work harmonically: b- / D Westward from the / Davis Strait, / e- / A 'Tis / there was said to / lie, / b- / D The / sea route to the / Orient, / e- / G For / which so many / died, b- / D Seeking gold and / glory, / A / e- Leaving / weathered broken / bones, and / G / D - A / e- / / A / long forgotten / lonely cairn of / stones. / / An exception to this is on the second verse, where he changes the phrasing of the last line, giving each chord a full bar: / G / D This / tardiest ex - / plorer, / A / e- / Driving / hard, a - cross the / plains. /

There is a video of Stan his son playing this on an acoustic guitar that I saw for the first time today. I was kind of stunned to find the song here to begin with. Thanks for that. Its not all that far off.