Grace chords
Jim McCann- Grace was written by Sean and Frank O’Meara. This version is by Jim McCann from his album By Request.
- Key Signature: B♭ Major with a key change to C Major after the 2nd chorus
- Time & Tempo: 4/4 time at 100 bpm (♩)
- Chords: B♭, B♭7, E♭, F, Cm, Gm → (key change) → C, C7, F, G, Dm, Am
- Easier in G Major with a key change to A Major: Most guitarists will be able to play this. It also sounds better, as the song lends itself to fingerpicking which always sounds better with open chords.
- Chords in G → A Major: G, G7, C, D, Am, Em → (key change) → A, A7, D, E, Bm, F#m
- Capo on 3rd fret if playing with the video
Chart Legend
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings R: Root Note
Unmarked strings: Play open X: Don't play string B: Bass Note
Grace
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other keyC G Em D G G Intro: 4/4 |𝄽 ♩ ♩ ♩ | | - | | | | (As we) G C D 1. As we gath-er in the chap-el here In old Kil-main-ham Jail C G Am D I think a-bout these past few weeks Or will they say we failed G C D From our school days they have told us We must yearn for lib-er-ty C G Em D G G7 Yet all I want in this dark place Is to have you here with me | | D C G Chorus: Oh Grace just hold me in your arms And let this mo-ment lin-ger C G D They’ll take me out at dawn and I will die | 𝄎 | D C G With all my love I’ll place this wed-ding ring u-pon your fin-ger C G Em There won't be time to share our love D G G7 For we must say good-bye | | G C D 2. Now I know it's hard for you my love To e-ver un-der-stand C G Am D The love I bear for these brave men My love for this dear land G C D But when Pad-raic called me to his side Down in the G.P.O. C G Em D G G7 I had to leave my own sick bed To him I had to go | | D C G Chorus: Oh Grace just hold me in your arms And let this mo-ment lin-ger C G D They’ll take me out to dawn and I will die | 𝄎 | D C G With all my love I’ll place this wed-ding ring u-pon your fin-ger C G Em There won't be time to share our love D G E7 For we must say good-bye | (key change) | A D E 3. Now as the dawn is break-ing My heart is break-ing too D A Bm E On this May morn as I walk out My thoughts will be of you A D E And I'll write some words u-pon the wall So ev’-ry-one will know D A F#m E A A7 I loved so much that I could see His blood Upon The Rose | | E D A Chorus: Oh Grace just hold me in your arms And let this mo-ment lin-ger D A E E7 They’ll take me out at dawn and I will die | | E D A With all my love I’ll place this wed-ding ring u-pon your fin-ger D A F#m E A A7 There won't be time to share our love For we must say good-bye | | D A F#m Oh there won't be time to share our love E D A So we must say | Good-bye | 𝄎 | | (slow)
The Song & Poetry
Brief: The last hours before Joseph Plunkett's execution and the events surrounding his capture after the Easter Rising... and the love for Grace Plunkett, his sweetheart.
Grace Gifford and Joseph Plunkett's story is a poignant and tragic tale intertwined with the events of the Easter Rising, a pivotal moment in Irish history.
Joseph Plunkett was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising, a rebellion that took place in Dublin in April 1916, aimed at ending British rule in Ireland and establishing an independent Irish Republic. Plunkett was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and a key figure in the planning of the uprising.
Amid the chaos of the Rising, Joseph Plunkett and Grace Gifford, an Irish artist and illustrator, had planned to marry for some time. Despite the turmoil in Dublin and Plunkett's declining health due to his battle with tuberculosis, they were determined to marry.
On May 3, 1916, just hours before Plunkett's scheduled execution, they were married in a short, private ceremony in the chapel of Kilmainham Gaol, where Plunkett was imprisoned. Grace wore a black dress as a symbol of mourning, and their wedding was a solemn and emotional affair conducted in the presence of a few witnesses, including the prison chaplain.
The wedding took place in the grim circumstances of a prison cell, with Plunkett facing imminent execution. After the brief ceremony, Grace was forcibly removed from the prison, and Joseph Plunkett was executed by firing squad shortly afterward, on May 4, 1916.
The marriage of Grace Gifford and Joseph Plunkett amid the backdrop of the Easter Rising and the imminent execution remains a powerful and tragic symbol of love, dedication, and sacrifice. Their story has been memorialized in Irish history and has become a poignant part of the narrative surrounding the struggle for Irish independence.
Please note certain references in the lyrics:
- G.P.O. refers to the General Post Office
- I See His Blood Upon the Rose is a famous poem written by Joseph Mary Plunkett while he was imprisoned in Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, just before his execution.
I See His Blood Upon the Rose
I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.
I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice - and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.
All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.
