The Minstrel Boy chords
by John McDermott
- The music to The Minstrel Boy is set to the melody of an old Irish 'Air' called The Moreen, while the lyrics were written by Thomas Moore - an Irish singer, songwriter, poet and entertainer from Dublin, Ireland.
- This version of the song by John McDermott is featured on his album Danny Boy.
- Music: Key of Eb Major in 4/4 time at 72 bpm (♩)
- Chords: Eb, Bb, Bb7, Bbsus4, Cm, Ab, G7
- Easier in D Major with chords: D, A, A7, Asus4, Bm, G, F#7
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 Minstrel Boy
Capo on 1st fret if playing with the video
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other keyD A G A D A Bm G A D Asus4 A D Intro: 4/4 |---♩| | / | / | / | D G D A Bm 1. The Min-strel boy to the war is gone G D Asus4 A D In the ranks of death you'll fi - ind him D G D A Bm His fath-er's sword he has gird-ed on G D Asus4 A D And his wild harp slung be - hi - ind him Bm G A7 A Land of Song! Said the war-rior bard Bm D F#7 Bm F#7 Bm Tho' all the world be - tra - ays thee D G D A Bm One sword at least thy rights shall guard G D Asus4 A D One faith-ful harp shall pra - aise thee D G D Bm G D A D Instr: | - | - | - | - | D G D A Bm 2. The Min-strel fell but the foe man's chain G D Asus4 A D Could not bring his proud soul u – un - der D G D A Bm The harp he loved ne'er spoke a - gain G D Asus4 A D For he tore its chords a – su – un - der Bm G A7 A And said no chains shall sul-y thee Bm D F#7 Bm F#7 Bm Thou soul of love and bra – av’ - ry D G D A Bm Thy songs were made for the pure and free G D Asus4 A D They shall nev-er sound in sla - av’- ry Bm G A7 A Land of Song! Said the war-rior bard Bm D F#7 Bm F#7 Bm Tho' all the world be - tra - ays thee D G D A Bm One sword at least thy rights shall guard G D Asus4 A D One faith-ful harp shall pra - aise thee D G D Bm G D A D Outro: | - | - | - | - |
Notes:
- Level Of Ease: Fairly Easy with only a couple of barre chords
- Song Key: Eb Major... 3 flats - (Bb, Eb, Ab)
- Song Key with capo on the 1st fret: D Major... 1 sharp - (F#)
- In the Intro, the violin brings the band in with a note played on the 4th beat of the 1st bar. The band comes in on the second bar.
- There are several chord changes in the 4 bars of Intro. If you find this a little hard, simply play the same chords as the 4 bars of instrumental breaks in the middle and end of the song.
- A hyphen between 2 chords splits the bar count in half, therefore | D - G | with 4 beats per bar means 2 beats on D and 2 beats on G... could also be written as | D / G / |.
- | G A D / | means 1 beat on G, 1 beat on A, and 2 beats on D. This simile mark or repeat sign ( / ) means you repeat the previous chord in the same bar.
- The song tends to start and stop and change tempo, but this is the nature of the song. John is a great Tenor, and sings the song beautifully.
- Use the Transposer for any key changes.
John McDermott
- Born: John Charles McDermott on the 25th March 1955 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- Occupation: Singer, songwriter, record producer
- Instruments: Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar
- Active Years: 1980 – present
- Music Styles: Celtic music
- Associations: The Irish Tenors, St. Michael's Choir School
- John McDermott Official Site
