Ellis Island
View chords used in this chart
Simplificar
Afinação: E A D G B ECapotraste: Sem capotraste
[Intro]
G F# Em Cadd9 F# G
G F# Em Cadd9 F# G/B
[Verse 1]
G F# Em
Forced into famine poverty and crime
Cadd9 G
Prosperity was a different world to mine
G F# Em
To better our lives we packed up and left
Cadd9 F# G
To look for the American dream.
G F# Em
The trip was long it was cold and wet
Cadd9 G
With love and ideals as our dream
G F# Em
Many died on the journey across
Cadd9 F# G
With their bodies dumped into the sea.
[Chorus]
Am C
We sang songs of hope as we were forced off our land
Am C
By a brutal nation with blood on its hands
G F# Em
Driven by what might be
Cadd9 F# G
To look for the American dream.
[Verse 2]
G F# Em
The welcoming lady with her beacon of light
Cadd9 G
Showed me Ellis Island at the end of my plight
G F# Em
The clothes on my back and my life in a bag
Cadd9 F# G
A community was waiting for me.
G F# Em
Building Manhattan with skills learned from home
Cadd9 G
Working the jobs no-one would own
G F# Em
Navvies and builders firemen and cops
Cadd9 F# G
Jobs for the boys who'd lost all their crops
[Chorus]
Am C
We sang songs of hope as we were forced off our land
Am C
By a brutal nation with blood on its hands
G F# Em
Driven by what might be
Cadd9 F# G
To look for the American dream.
G F# Em Cadd9 F# G
G F# Em Cadd9 F# G/B
[Verse 3]
G F# Em
The love of a land we were forced to flee
Cadd9 G
We left to escape the tyranny
G F# Em
Providing a life for our families
Cadd9 F# G
Giving us hope to achieve.
G F# Em
Many years on we looked back on that time
Cadd9 G
The tragic deaths of the friends of mine
G F# Em
Choices were made whether right or wrong
Cadd9 F# G
We remember them all in this song.
[Chorus]
Am C
We sang songs if hope as we were forced off our land
Am C
By a brutal nation with blood on its hands
G F# Em
Driven by what might be
Cadd9 F# G
To look for the American dream.
G F# Em Cadd9 F# G
G F# Em
Driven by what might be
Cadd9 F# G
To look for the American dream.
G F# Em Cadd9 F# G
G F# Em Cadd9 F# G
How to play Ellis Island
Use the controls above to change the key and text size. Follow the highlighted chords while listening, then practice each section slowly before playing at the original tempo.
What is the starting chord?
The first identified chord is E. You can transpose without leaving the page.
Can I play it on guitar or keyboard?
Yes. The chord progression works on acoustic guitar, electric guitar and keyboard. Adapt the voicings to your instrument and level.