Englishman In New York | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Em7 A | Bm Bmadd9 Bm/A :|| x4
Verse 1
||: Em7 A | Bm Bmadd9 Bm/A :||
I don’t drink coffee, I take tea, my dear.
I like my toast done on one side.
And you can hear it in my accent when I talk.
| Em7 A | Bm |
I’m an Englishman in New York.
Verse 2
See me walking down Fifth Avenue.
A walking cane here at my side.
I take it everywhere I walk.
| Em7 A | Bm Bm/A |
I’m an Englishman in New York.
Chorus 1
||: Em A | Bm :||
Oh, oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien, I’m an Englishman in New York.
Oh, oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien, I’m an Englishman in New York.
Verse 3 (as verse 1)
If “manners maketh man” as someone said.
He’s the hero of the day.
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile.
Be yourself, no matter what they say.
Chorus 2
Wo-oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien, I’m an Englishman in New York.
Wo-oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien, I’m an Englishman in New York.
Middle 8
| D | A |
Modesty, propriety, can lead to notoriety.
| Bm Bm7 | F# F#7 |
You could end up as the only one.
| G | A |
Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society.
| A#dim7 | Bm N.C |
At night a candle’s brighter than the sun.
Solo
||: Em7 A7 | Bm7 :|| x4
||: N.C | N.C :|| (drum solo)
| Em7 A7 | Bm7 |
Verse 4 (as verse 2)
Takes more than combat gear to make a man.
Takes more than a license for a gun.
Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can.
A gentleman will walk but never run.
Verse 5 (as verse 1)
If “manners maketh man” as someone said.
He’s our hero of the day.
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile.
Be yourself no matter what they say, be yourself no matter what they say.
Be yourself no matter what they say,
Outro
||: Em A | Bm :||
Be yourself no matter what they say. (Oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien).
Be yourself no matter what they say. (I’m an Englishman in New York).
Be yourself no matter what they say. (Oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien).
Be yourself no matter what they say. (I’m an Englishman in New York).
Be yourself no matter what they say. (Oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien).
Be yourself no matter what they say. (I’m an Englishman in New York).
Be yourself no matter what they say. (Oh, I’m an alien, I’m a legal alien).
Be yourself no matter what they say. (I’m an Englishman in New York).
Be yourself no matter what they say.
Englishman In New York Chords: Learn the progressions
Just looking at the chords, Englishman In New York appears relatively easy.
The verse is just chords II – V – VI on repeat. With extensions, it looks like this in the key of Bm.
||: Em7 A | Bm Bmadd9 Bm/A :||
I came up with a part that includes that string line. Thanks to the low E and A strings, it works on just one acoustic guitar. Here’s a link to the TAB: Englishman In New York – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The chorus is even easier as it is the same chords but without extensions (there’s TAB for this too), like this:
||: Em (II) A (V) | Bm (VI) :||
We go from Bm as the key centre to D in the middle 8 when the chords go I – V – VI – IIIx, and then IV – V – #Vdim – VI, like this:
| D (I) | A (V) | Bm (VI) Bm7 | F# (IIIx) F#7 |
| G (IV) | A (V) | A#dim7 (#Vdim7)| Bm (VI) N.C |
There’s TAB for the middle 8 part as well, making it only three sections to learn. This makes it easier to play Englishman in New York than I had expected when I started transcribing it.
Once you’ve had a look at that TAB, this chord chart is all you need to remember the structure and chords.
Englishman In New York Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Englishman In New York Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Englishman In New York iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Englishman In New York is one of Sting’s best tunes!
After the enormous worldwide success Sting had with his band The Police between ’78 and ’83, he embarked on a solo career the following year.
Being so well known by now, Sting could entice the finest studio musicians the world had to offer. This resulted in a much slicker sound than The Police New Wave power trio had produced. For some songs, he even had an orchestra.
After his first solo album, Dream Of The Blue Turtle (1985), which had one big hit, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free, he released Nothing Like The Sun (1987). This album contained Fragile and what we’re looking at above, Englishman In New York.
By now Sting had found his new sound and shown the world that he could stand on his own two feet.
There would be one more album in Soul Cages before he released his masterpiece Ten Summoner’s Tales in ’93.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Englishman In New York is one of Sting’s best compositions, study how he put this classic together very carefully, the devil is in the fine detail here, learning to play it on one acoustic guitar is definitely a great idea/party trick!
Englishman In New York Chords | Related Pages
Englishman In New York | Guitar Lesson + TAB
In this lesson, you’ll get the TAB detailing how to play Englishman In New York on one acoustic guitar, incorporating the bass and strings.
| Em7 A | Bm Bmadd9 Bm/A |
I don’t drink coffee, I take tea, my dear…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
- Could You Be Loved chords by Bob Marley
- Down Under chords by Men At Work
- Rosanna chords by Toto
- Roxanne chords by The Police
- Vultures chords by John Mayer
Sting tunes
Sting is an English musician who, prior to his solo career, had a band called The Police, with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers.
Formed in 1977, The Police reached worldwide success after releasing their first single Roxanne only a year after they formed the band.
Sting on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Englishman In New York chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
