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Version 2 Version 3 Version 5
[Chorus]
D A
Ah, for just one time
G
I would take the Northwest Passage
Bm A
To find the hand of Franklin
Em G
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
D A
Tracing one warm line
G
Through a land so wild and savage
D A D
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea
[Verse 1]
G D
Westward from the Davis Strait
A Em
'Tis there 'twas 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 Em
Leaving weathered, broken bones
G A
And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of
Em
stones
[Chorus]
D A
Ah, for just one time
G
I would take the Northwest Passage
Bm A
To find the hand of Franklin
Em G
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
D A
Tracing one warm line
G
Through a land so wild and savage
D A D
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea
[Verse 2]
G D
Three centuries thereafter
A Em
I take passage overland
G D
In the footsteps of brave Kelso
A D
Where his "sea of flowers" began
G D
Watching cities rise before me
A Em
Then behind me sink again
G D
This tardiest explorer
A Em
Driving hard across the plain
[Chorus]
D A
Ah, for just one time
G
I would take the Northwest Passage
Bm A
To find the hand of Franklin
Em G
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
D A
Tracing one warm line
G
Through a land so wild and savage
Bm A D
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea
[Verse 3]
G D
And through the night, behind the wheel
A Em
The mileage clicking west
G D
I think upon Mackenzie,
A D
David Thompson and the rest
G D
Who cracked the mountain ramparts
A Em
And did show a path for me
G A Em
To race the roaring Fraser to the sea
[Chorus]
D A
Ah, for just one time
G
I would take the Northwest Passage
Bm A
To find the hand of Franklin
Em G
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
D A
Tracing one warm line
G
Through a land so wild and savage
D A D
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea
[Verse 4]
G D
How then am I so different
A Em
From the first men through this way?
G D
Like them, I left a settled life
A D
I threw it all away
G D
To seek a Northwest Passage
A Em
At the call of many men
G A
To find there but the road back home
Em
again
[Chorus]
D A
Ah, for just one time
G
I would take the Northwest Passage
Bm A
To find the hand of Franklin
Em G
Reaching for the Beaufort Sea
D A
Tracing one warm line
G
Through a land so wild and savage
D A D
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea