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