The Green Fields Of France chords
by The Fureys & Davey Arthur- The Green Fields Of France was written in 1976 by Eric Bogle - a Scottish-Australian singer/song-writer. It was originally named 'No Man's Land', and has also been called 'Willie McBride'. He wrote No Man's Land after visiting military cemeteries in both North France and Flanders. The subject of the song was the death of a young soldier called Willie McBride.
- Davey Arthur and the Furey Brothers recorded the song in the 1980's and has since become very popular world-wide. The song is featured on their album The Fureys and Davey Arthur Live.
- Music: Key of D Major in 3/4 time at 124 bpm
- Chords: D, Bm, G, Em, A, A7
- Capo: 3rd fret if playing with the video (F major)
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
Barre Line: One finger holds down multiple strings R: Root Note
Unmarked strings: Play open X: Don't play string B: Bass Note
The Green Fields Of France
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other keyD Intro: 3/4 | | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | D Bm G Em 1. Well how do you do, young Wil-lie Mc-Bride? A A7 G D Do you mind if I sit here down by your grave-side D Bm G Em And rest for a while 'neath the warm sum-mer sun? A A7 G D I've been walk-ing all day, and I'm near-ly done | 𝄎 | D Bm G Em ** I see by your grave-stone you were on-ly nine-teen A A7 G A A7 When you joined the great fall-en in Nine-teen Six-teen | | D Bm G Em I hope you died well, and I hope you died clean A A7 G D Or young Wil-lie Mc-Bride, was it slow and ob-scene? A A7 G D Chorus: Did they beat the drums slow-ly Did they play the fife low-ly A A7 G A A7 Did they sound the death march as they low-ered you down? | | G D Bm Did the band play the last post and cho-rus | | D G A D Did the pipes play the flow-ers of the fo - rest? | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | D Bm G Em 2. Did you leave a-ny wife or a sweet-heart be-hind? A A7 G D In some faith-ful heart, is your mem-o-ry en-shrined? D Bm G Em Al-though you died back in Nine-teen Six-teen A A7 G D In that faith-ful heart are you for-e-ver nine-teen? | 𝄎 | D Bm G Em ** Or are you a stran-ger with-out e-ven a name A A7 G A | A7 | En-closed in for-e-ver be-hind the glass frame D Bm G Em In an old pho-to-graph torn, bat-tered and stained A A7 G D And fa-ded to yel-low in a brown, lea-ther frame A A7 G D Chorus: Did they beat the drums slow-ly Did they play the fife low-ly A A7 G A A7 Did they sound the death march as they low-ered you down? | | G D Bm Did the band play the last post and cho-rus | | D G A D Did the pipes play the flow-ers of the fo - rest? | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | D Bm G Em 3. The sun now it shines on the green fields of France A A7 G D There's a warm, sum-mer breeze that makes the red pop-pies dance D Bm G Em And look how the sun shines from un-der the clouds A A7 G D There's no gas, no barbed wire, there's no gun fi-ring down | 𝄎 | D Bm G Em ** But here in this grave-yard, it's still no man’s land A A7 G A A7 The count-less white cros-ses stand mute in the sand | | D Bm G Em To a man's blind in-dif-fer-ence to his fel-low man A A7 G D To a whole gen-e-ra-tion that were but-chered and damned A A7 G D Chorus: Did they beat the drums slow-ly Did they play the fife low-ly A A7 G A A7 Did they sound the death march as they low-ered you down? | | G D Bm Did the band play the last post and cho-rus | | D G A D Did the pipes play the flow-ers of the fo - rest? | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | D Bm G Em 4. Ah, young Wil-lie Mc-Bride, I can't help won-der why A A7 G D To those that lie here, now why did they die? D Bm G Em And did they be-lieve when they an-swered the call A A7 G D Did they real-ly be-lieve that this war would end war? | 𝄎 | D Bm G Em ** Well, the sor-rows, the suf-fer-ing, the glo-ry, the pain A A7 G A A7 The kil-ling and dy-ing was all done in vain | | D Bm G Em For young Wil-lie Mc-Bride, it all hap-pened a-gain A A7 G D And a-gain and a-gain and a-gain and a-gain! A A7 G D Chorus: Did they beat the drums slow-ly Did they play the fife low-ly A A7 G A A7 Did they sound the death march as they low-ered you down? | | G D Bm Did the band play the last post and cho-rus | | D G A D Did the pipes play the flow-ers of the fo - rest? A A7 G D Chorus: Did they beat the drums slow-ly Did they play the fife low-ly A A7 G A A7 Did they sound the death march as they low-ered you down? | | G D Bm Did the band play the last post and cho-rus | | D G A G D Did the pipes play the flow-ers of the fo - rest? | 𝄎 | | 𝄎 | 𝄑
Notes:
- Level Of Ease: Easy
- Tempo: 124 bpm if you want the click track to sound on every beat. If you want the beat to sound on the first beat of each bar, set the metronome to approx 41 bpm.
- The fermata or pause symbol 𝄐 at the end of the song means you play the D chord and stop, letting the chord ring out. It is often found at the end of a song where a chord or note is drawn out till the note or chord fades, or sometimes when the song finishes abruptly.
- The song has been kept as simple as possible, with little coloration, but you can experiment if you like using Dsus4 (x00233) every now and then, especially when the D chord is drawn out over a few bars. I also like to use the Dsus2 (x00230) in combination with the Dsus4. You can also experiment with the Asus4 (x02230) in combination with the A & A7 chords. This is especially useful if you are playing solo, as it tends to add a bit of interest to the song.
- Music provides a great platform for bringing out your 'creative side'. Try different things... you may just come across a 'vibe' that takes the song to another level, and you may surprise yourself in the process.
- This is a beautiful song with a very simple but moving melody line. Some of the most simple tunes are often the best... enjoy
Songs relating to the Gallipoli War on this site
- Gallipoli - The Fureys & Davey Arthur
- Green Fields Of France, The - The Fureys & Davey Arthur
- And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - Liam Clancy
