Verse 1
E                       A      E 
If on every ocean the ship is a throne 
   A              E                A          B 
And for each mast cut down another sapling is grown 
    E                        A          E 
Then I could believe that I'm bound to find 
   A             E     B     E 
A better life than I left behind 
 
Refrain
A               E       C#- 
But as you ascend the ladder 
  E                    B 
Look out below where you tread 
   E                     A     E 
For the colors bled as they overflowed 
    A         E 
Red, white and blue 
    A          E 
Green, white and gold 
 
Verse 2
E                       A      E 
So I had to leave from my country of birth 
 A              E 
As for each child grown tall 
    A             B 
Another lies in the earth 
E                        A          E 
And for every rail we laid in the loam 
        A             E          B          E 
There's a thousand miles of the long journey home 
 
Refrain
A               E       C#- 
But as you ascend the ladder 
  E                    B 
Look out below where you tread 
   E                     A     E 
For the colors bled as they overflowed 
    A         E 
Red, white and blue 
    A          E 
Green, white and gold 
 
repeat