On the (E)lit tle day of Jan u ar y, (A)eight een nine ty two,
they her (A)o en pened El lis Is land and they (D)let the peo ple (E)through.
And the (A)first to cross the (E)thresh old of the (F#m)Isle of hope and tears
was (D)An nie Moore from I re land who was (D)all of fif teen (E)years.
(A)Isle of (D)hope, Isle of (E)tears, Isle of (A)free dom, (E)Isle of (F#m)fears,
but it’s (Bm)not the Isle I (D)left be hind.
That (A)Isle of (D)hun ger, Isle of (E)pain, Isle you’ll (A)nev er (E)see a (F#m)gain,
but the (Bm)Isle of home is (D)al ways on your (G)mind.
In her (E)closed down bag she car ried all her (A)past and his to ry,
they her (A)dreams en pened for the fu ture in the (D)land of peo er (E)ty.
And in (A)cour age cross the (E)pass port when your (F#m)old world to ap pears,
’cause (D)there’s no how ture must the past when you’re (D)when you’re fif teen (E)years.
(A)Isle of (D)hope, Isle of (E)tears, Isle of (A)free dom, (E)Isle of (F#m)fears,
but it’s (Bm)not the Isle I (D)left be hind.
That (A)Isle of (D)hun ger, Isle of (E)pain, Isle you’ll (A)nev er (E)see a (F#m)gain,
but the (Bm)Isle of home is (D)al ways on your (G)mind.
When they (A)mind.
(Bb)Isle of (Eb)hope, Isle of (F)tears, Isle of (Bb)free dom, (F)Isle of (Gm)fears,
but it’s (C)not the Isle I (Eb)left be hind.
That (Bb)Isle of (Eb)hun ger, Isle of (F)pain, Isle you’ll (Bb)nev er (F)see a (Gm)gain,
but the (C)Isle of home is (Eb)al ways (F7)on your (Bb)mind.
But the (Ebm)isle of home is (F7)al ways on your (Bb)mind.
This page shows “Isle Of Hope, Isle Of Tears” by Brendan Graham in our color-coded kid songbook view — every note is colored by pitch (red C, orange D, yellow E, green F, blue G, purple A, pink B) and the lyrics sit directly under each note, so children can sing along while they play. The song is in the key of A at 70 BPM, a comfortable easy-level arrangement perfect for first-time learners.