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(D)Ly ing be side you (A)here in the (G)dark,
(Bm)feel ing your (A)heart beat with (G)mine.
(D)Soft ly you whis per; (A)you’re so sin (G)cere.
(Bm)How could our (A)love be so blind?
We (Em)sailed on to geth er; we (Bm)drift ed a part.
(A)And (D)here you (A)are by my side.
(A)So now I (D)come
to (D)you
with (D)o pen arms,
(G)noth ing to hide,
be (C9)lieve what I say.
So here I (D)am
with (D)o pen arms,
(G)hop ing you’ll see what your (C9)love means to me.
O pen arms.
(D)Liv ing with out you,
liv ing a (G)lone;
(Bm)this emp ty (A)house seems so cold.
(D)Want ing to hold you,
want ing you (G)near;
(Bm)how much I (A)want ed you (G)home.
But (Em)now that you’ve come back, turned (Bm)night in to day,
(D)I
(A)need you to stay.
(A)So now I (C9)love means to me.
O pen arms.
This page shows “Open Arms” by Journey 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 D at 120 BPM, a comfortable easy-level arrangement perfect for first-time learners.
This arrangement is a great way to develop your left-hand arpeggio technique — instead of block chords, you'll roll through broken patterns that give the ballad its flowing, open feel, so focus on keeping that hand relaxed and even. Most of your chords sit comfortably in D major, but watch the Bb and C9 — these borrowed chords add emotional color and will catch you off guard if you don't isolate those transitions early. I'd suggest hands-separate practice at around 80 BPM first, especially through any passage where Bb appears, since your fingers need to commit that shape to memory before you layer the melody on top. Once both hands feel steady, bring the tempo up gradually and add sustain pedal, changing it with each new chord to avoid muddiness. This is the piece that'll make arpeggiated bass lines feel like second nature to you — stick with it.