Four Green Fields chords

by Jim McCann
  • Four Green Fields was written by Tommy Makem in 1967. He was an Irish folk musician well-known for his associations with The Clancy Brothers as well as Liam Clancy of Makem and Clancy fame.
  • This version of the song is by Jim McCann from the album By Request.
  • Music: Key of G Major in 3/4 time at ~ 100 - 102 bpm (♩)
  • Chords: G, D, C, Em, Am, D7, Dsus2
Chart Legend
Numbered Circles: Fingers used to play chords   O: Optional Note
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings   R: Root Note
Unmarked strings: Play open   X: Don't play string    B: Bass Note
G Major Am C Major D Major Dsus2 Dsus4 D7 Em
G Major Am C Major D Major Dsus2 Dsus4 D7 Em

Four Green Fields

Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
              G
Intro: 3/4 |     |   𝄎  |   𝄎  |   𝄎  |   𝄎  |   𝄎  |

   G    D     G                C        G
1. What did I have    Said the fine old wo-man
   G    D     G            C         Am         D     Dsus2
   What did I have    This proud old wo-man did say |        |
         G    D     Em        G        C     D        Dsus2
   I had four green fields    Each one was a jew-el |        |
       G      D   Em          C        Am             D    Dsus2
   But strang-ers came    And tried to take them from me |        |
         G    D      Em           G         C       D         Dsus2
   I had fine strong sons    They fought to save my jew-els |        |
        C      D7       G    Em     G           D          G
   They fought and they died    And that was my grief said she | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 |

   G    D      G              C        G
2. Long time a-go    Said the fine old wo-man
   G    D      G          C         Am         D     Dsus2
   Long time a-go    This proud old wo-man did say |        |
             G   D   Em       G        C       D          Dsus2
   There was war and death    Plund-er-ing and pill-age |        |
        G    D    Em            C        Am          D    Dsus2
   My child-ren starved    By mount-ain vall-ey and sea |        |
             G    D   Em            G           C     D          Dsus2
   And their wail-ing cries    They reached the ver-y heav-ens |        |
      C    D7    G      Em     G              D          G
   My four green fields    Ran red with their blood said she | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 |

   G    D      G               C        G
3. What have I now    Said the fine old wo-man
   G    D      G           C         Am         D     Dsus2
   What have I now    This proud old wo-man did say |        |
          G    D     Em        G      C         D          Dsus2
   I have four green fields    One of them's in bond-age |        |
      G      D    Em           C        Am           D    Dsus2
   In strang-er's hands    Who tried to take it from me |        |
          G    D    Em         G        C          D          Dsus2
   And my sons have sons    As brave as were their fath-ers |        |
      C    D7    G      Em       G            D        G
   My four green fields   _ Will bloom once a-gain said she |  𝄎  |
      C    D7    G      Em       G            D         C      G
   My four green fields   _ Will bloom once a-gain said she |     |...

Notes:

  • Level Of Ease: Easy
  • Song Key: This version of the song is in the key of G major (1 sharp - F#)
  • 3/4 time: This means 3 quarter-note beats per bar, therefore the count is
    | 1 2 3 | or |1& 2& 3& | or in this case where you are playing a hammer-on hammer-off on the the 3rd beat of the bar | 1& 2& 3&& | etc.
  • Tempo: approximately 100 - 102 BPM.
  • The Intro | G |... x6 can be played as | G / G-h |... x 6 where you hammer on and off on the 3rd beat of each bar.
  • The same applies to the end of verses 1 & 2 where there are 4 bars of the G chord. Instead of playing | G | G | G | G | - you can play | G | G / G-h | G | G |
  • h means to hammer-on: you bring your finger(s) down on the fingerboard sharply, causing a note or chord to sound. To hammer-off is to simply lift your finger off after a hammer-on creating a small trill. In this instance, the hammer-on and hammer-off occurs on the & of the 3rd beat of the bar which is played on the C-note located on the 1st fret-string 2. (xxxx1x)
  • In this example you will count the bar as 1& 2& 3&& - the && is played in the same time as &.

    | G / G-h | is actually | G (1&)    G (2&)     G (3) hammer-on C note (&) hammer-off C note (&) |

    This means that you play G for 2 beat counts and the 3rd beat count is split in 3 so that the hammer-on-off actually occurs on the && of 3&&, with the 3 being an open G chord played with fingers 2,3 and 4 while finger 1 plays the hammer-on (C note) & hammer-off (C note).

    Play it slowly counting the beats as you go... you will hear this if you are playing with the video.
  • You don't have to play the hammer on. It provides a bit of interest and it teaches you a little more about guitar technique.
  • If you are not playing with the video, you don't have to play the 4 bars of G at the end of verses 1 & 2 - you may prefer 2 bars.
  • I have added a Dsus2 which is included in the video. Again you can just continue with a D chord or you can spice it up a bit using a Dsus4. Whichever chord you decide on, it will still sound fine.

Jim McCann

Jim McCann
Jim McCann

Born: James McCann on the 26th October 1944 in Dublin, Ireland

Died: 5th March, 2015 (aged 70)

Occupation: Musician

Instruments: Vocals, guitar

Active Years: 1964–2015

Music Styles: Folk

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