U2 - American Soul: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "American Soul" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

Em
Blessed are the bullies
For one day they will
have to stand up to themselves
Blessed are the liars
For the truth can be awkward

Em
It's not a place
             B           Em
This country is to me a sound
Em
Of drum and bass
                B            Em
You close your eyes to look around

Em
Look around, look around
Em     B             Em
Look around, it's a sound
        Em
Look around, look around
        B
It's a sound


Em
It's not a place
             B            Em
This country is to me a thought
              D  G
That offers grace
           A        B      Em
For every welcome that is sought

Chorus:
Em       B
You are rock and roll
Em             B
You and I are rock and roll
Em       B
You are rock and roll
Em
Came here looking for American soul

It's not a place
This is a dream the whole world owns
The pilgrim's face
It had your heart to call her home

Hold on Brother John
Too many mothers weepin'
Dream on Brother John
But in your dreams you can't be sleepin'

Chorus:
You are rock and roll
You and I are rock and roll
You are rock and roll
We came here looking for American soul
American
American

Em
Put your hands in the air
Hold up the sky
Could be too late, but we still gotta try
There's a moment in our life where a soul can die
And the person in a country when you believe the lie
The lie (the lie, the lie)
There's a promise in the heart of every good dream
It's a call to action, not to fantasy
The end of a dream, the start of what's real
Let it be unity
Let it be community
For refugees like you and me
A country to receive us
Will you be our sanctuary
Refu-Jesus

Chorus:
You are rock and roll
You and I are rock and roll
You are rock and roll
Came here looking for American soul

You are rock and roll
You and I are rock and roll
You are rock and roll
Came here looking for American soul
American soul
American soul


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A

Guitar chord A

Am

Guitar chord Am

D

Guitar chord D

Em

Guitar chord Em

G

Guitar chord G

B

Guitar chord B

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "American Soul" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "American Soul" by U2.

U2 Song List