{title: Northwest Passage}
{artist: Stan Rogers}
{album: Northwest Passage (1981)}
{key: D}
{tempo: 100}
{difficulty: intermediate}
{tags: canadiana,stan-rogers,maritime,history}
{video: youtube:n37lUVpZHXQ}
{credit: Stan Rogers - 'Northwest Passage' (Live at Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, 1982). (c) Fogarty's Cove Music.}

{c: Stan Rogers' unofficial Canadian anthem. Tells the story of Franklin's lost expedition alongside the singer's own road journey across Canada.}
{c: TRADITION: First chorus is sung A CAPPELLA. Guitar comes in on the verse. Wait, listen, hold the silence — it's part of the song.}
{c: Lyrics copyright Fogarty's Cove Music. Chord progression skeleton only below. For full lyrics: Stan Rogers Songbook (Fogarty's Cove Music) or learn by ear from the 1981 recording.}

{c: ===== STRUCTURE =====}
{c: Chorus (a cappella) → Verse 1 → Chorus → Verse 2 → Chorus → Verse 3 → Final chorus}

{c: ===== CHORUS PROGRESSION (in D) =====}
[D]________ [G]________ [D]________ [A]________
[D]________ [G]________ [D]________ [A]________ [D]________

{c: ===== VERSE PROGRESSION =====}
[D]________ [G]________ [D]________ [A]________
[D]________ [Bm]________ [G]________ [A]________
[D]________ [G]________ [D]________ [Em]________ [A]________
[D]________ [G]________ [D]________ [A]________ [D]________

{c: ===== PERFORMANCE NOTES =====}
{c: Strum: slow, deliberate boom-chuck — this is a story, not a dance.}
{c: Capo 2 makes it an E-shape song if D feels low for your voice.}
{c: For the a cappella opening: pitch yourself off a tuning fork or a quiet guitar note before counting in. Don't drift.}
{c: Mandolin: lay out the first chorus entirely. Come in on verse 1 with sparse double-stops.}
{c: Concertina: this song was written FOR concertina accompaniment. If you've got one, drone D underneath the chorus.}

{c: ===== HOW TO LEARN THIS PROPERLY =====}
{c: 1. Listen to the original 5+ times before touching your instrument.}
{c: 2. Look up the lyrics at lyrics sites or buy the Stan Rogers Songbook.}
{c: 3. Sing the chorus a cappella in the shower for a week before adding guitar.}
{c: 4. The guitar is the SETTING for the voice — don't busy it up.}

{c: ===== WHY THIS SONG MATTERS =====}
{c: Sung at every Canadian folk festival and most kitchen parties since 1981. Stan Rogers died in a plane fire in 1983, two years after writing this. The song outlived him and now belongs to everyone. Learn it. Sing it. Pass it on.}