Chords + Lyrics | Englishman In New York
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 Backing Tracks | Chord Analysis
Above, you’ll find backing tracks to use when learning Englishman In New York. I’ve used stem-seperation to extract the strings and keys while keeping the drums, bass, horns, and vocals intact. The original recording doesn’t have any guitar.
After studying the chords and TAB, use my backing tracks to prepare for playing this tune with a band.
Should you want to play along with the original recording instead, you need to tune your guitar sharp to 442Hz. In the backing tracks, I’ve done this job for you by tuning it to 440Hz.
Chord Progressions – What’s Going On?
At first glance, the chords in Englishman in New York seem relatively simple.
The verse follows a repeating II – V – VI progression. With extensions, it looks like this in the key of Bm:
||: Em7 A | Bm Bmadd9 Bm/A :||
I’ve arranged a part that includes the signature string line, playable on a single acoustic guitar thanks to the open E and A strings, check it out further down this guitar lesson.
The chorus is even easier—it uses the same chords but without extensions (there’s TAB for this too), like this:
||: Em (II) A (V) | Bm (VI) :||
The middle 8 shifts the key centre from Bm to D, following a I – V – VI – IIIx sequence, then moving through 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 |
I’ve also put together TAB for this section, meaning there are only three parts to learn—making Englishman in New York easier to play than I first expected when transcribing it.
Once you’ve checked out the TAB, this simple chord chart is all you need to memorise the structure and chords.
Englishman In New York Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro Download
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 | TAB
That string section verse part can be played on one acoustic guitar using Em7 – A – Bm – Bmadd9 – Bm/A, like this:
During the chorus, calm it down to the bare bones of Em – A – Bm, like this:
For the middle 8, we move to D (Ionian) and almost feel as if the key changes — but it doesn’t, it’s just a different part of the key:
| D (I) | A (V) | Bm (VI) Bm7 | F# (IIIx) F#7 |
These first four bars are all from the same key: I – V – VI – IIIx. The F# is the most common place to switch from minor to major.
| G (IV) | A (V) | A#dim7 (#V) | Bm (VI) N.C |
The second half of this section stays in the key of D: IV – V – VI, with a dim7 chord inserted between V and VI — a classic move.
Perhaps this is the genius of Sting: he makes it sound jazzy, but really, it’s still pop.
Here’s the TAB for the middle 8:
Practice these three sections in isolation before you put it into a one acoustic guitar arrangeemnt to back a singer.
Ignore the bass notes and you’ve got an electric part for a band situation, try it with the backing tracks — it’s easier than you might think!
One of Sting’s finest songs
After achieving massive worldwide success with The Police between 1978 and 1983, Sting embarked on a solo career the following year.
By this point, he was a household name, allowing him to collaborate with some of the world’s finest session musicians. This led to a much slicker sound than The Police’s raw, New Wave power trio approach—some tracks even featured full orchestral arrangements.
His first solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985), produced the hit If You Love Somebody Set Them Free. He followed this with Nothing Like the Sun (1987), which included Fragile and, of course, Englishman in New York.
By now, Sting had fully established his signature solo sound, proving he could stand on his own.
He would go on to release The Soul Cages before unveiling his masterpiece, Ten Summoner’s Tales, in 1993.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves—Englishman in New York is one of his greatest compositions. Study its structure carefully; the brilliance lies in the fine details. Learning to play it on a single acoustic guitar isn’t just a great challenge—it’s an impressive party trick!
Englishman In New York Chords: Continue Learning
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