Manzanar Chords
by Tom Russell
Manzanar by Tom Russell is a beginner-friendly guitar song played in the key of G with a capo on the 3st fret. It uses the chords G, C, Am and D. Use the transpose and diagram tools on this page to change the key, see each shape, or simplify the chords.
Intro: G
verse 1
He said, my name is Nakashima
C G
And I'm a proud American
C G
I came here in '24
Am D
From my homeland in Japan
verse 2
G
And I picked your grapes and oranges
C G
Saved some money, bought a store
C G
Until Nineteen Forty-Two
Am D
Pearl Harbour and the war
verse 3
G
Came those relocation orders
C G
They took our house, the store, the car
C G
Then they drove us to the desert
Am D
To a place called Manzanar
verse 4
G
The Spanish word for "apple orchard"
C G
Though we saw no apple trees
C G
Only rows of prison barracks
Am D
With barbed wire boundaries
N.C. C G
And we dream of apple blossoms
C D
Waving free beneath the stars
C G
Till we wake up in the desert
Am D
The prisoners of Manzanar
G
Manzanar
Verse 5
Fifty years, they've all but vanished
C G
And now I am an old man
C G
And I don't regret the day
Am D
That I came here from Japan
Verse 6
G
But on moonlit winter nights
C G
I often wish upon a star
C G
That I'd forget the shame and sorrow
Am D
That I felt at Manzanar
N.C. C G
And we dream of apple blossoms
C D
Waving free beneath the stars
C G
Till we wake up in the desert
Am D
The prisoners of Manzanar
G
Manzanar
Outro
C G C D C G Am
D
Manzanar
G
Manzanar