U2 - The Refugee: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "The Refugee" 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.

Chorus:
B
Wa, war she's the refugee
I see your face, I see you staring back at me
Wa, war she is the refugee
Her mama say one day she's gonna live in America

        B              A
In the morning she is waiting
                  B                  A B
Waiting for the ship to sail, sail away

Chorus:
Wa, war her papa go to war
He gonna fight but he don't know what for
Wa, war her papa go to war
Her mama say one day he's
gonna come back from far away

Oh help me
How can you help me?

       B
In the evening
        A
She is waiting
             B
Waiting for her man to come
              A
And take her by her hand
                  B
And take her to this promised land

Chorus:
Wa, war she's a pretty face
But at the wrong time in the wrong place
Wa, war she's a pretty face
Her mama say one days she's gonna live in America
Yeah, America

Chorus:
Wa, war she is a refugee
She coming back, she come and keep you company
Wa, war she is a refugee
Her mama say one day she's gonna live in America


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

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 "The Refugee" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "The Refugee" by U2.

U2 Song List