{title: Northwest Passage}
{artist: Stan Rogers}
{album: Northwest Passage (1981)}
{key: D}
{tempo: 100}
{difficulty: intermediate}
{phase: 2}
{strand: CR}
{feel: roar}
{lead_voice: mid}
{lead_mode: solo}
{lead_demand: moderate}
{harmony: M}
{a_cappella: yes}
{kit: acap}
{set_role: reveal}
{lang: en}
{country_tags: CA}
{copyright: copyrighted}
{flags: a_cappella}
{tags: a-cappella,campfire,canadiana,chorus,copyrighted,history,maritime,shanty,stan-rogers,starter}
{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: ===== FIDDLE BREAK (between verses 2 and 3) =====}
{c: Stan's recordings are a cappella opening + sparse band — fiddle is NOT on the original. But for a band arrangement, a slow fiddle counter-melody works beautifully and pays respect to the song's hymn-like phrasing.}
{c: Key: D. Stay in major; the only modal flavour is the brief Bm passing chord.}
{c: Suggested fiddle solo (one full chorus melody, ABC notation, 4/4 in D):}
{c:   |: A2 d2 d2 f2 | e2 d2 B2 A2 | d2 e2 f2 e2 | d2 A2 D4 :|}
{c:   Chorus repeat: |: f2 g2 a2 f2 | e2 d2 c2 B2 | A2 d2 f2 e2 | d4 z4 :|}
{c: Or improvise: D major scale (D-E-F#-G-A-B-c#-d) with long sustained bowed notes. The song is slow — hold the long notes, don't shred.}
{c: Concertina alternative: drone D and A throughout the fiddle break, no melody. Lets the fiddle carry the line alone.}
{c: Mandolin: tremolo on chord roots while fiddle has the melody.}

{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.}