The Green Fields Of France
The Fureys & Davey Arthur
Ton : G
WGell how do you Emdo youngC WilliAme McBride,
Do you mDind if I D7sit here downC by your graGveside,
And rest for a wEmhile neath the Cwarm summerAm sun,
I've been wDorking all D7day andC I'm nearlGy done.
IG see by your Emgravestone you wereC onlAmy 19,
When you jDoined the great Cfallen inG 191D76,
I hGope you died Emwell and IAm hope you died clean,
Or young WDillie McD7Bride was itC slow anGd obscene.
[Refrain :]
DGid they Dbeat the drumD7 slowly, did theCy play the fiGfe lowly,
Did they sDound the dead D7march, as theyC lowered yoDu down,
Did the bCand play the last post and GchorEmus,
Did the pGipes play the CFlowers of theD7 ForeGst.
Did you leave ere a wife or a sweetheart behind,
In some faithful heart is your memory enshrined,
Although you died back in 1916,
In that faithful heart are you forever 19.
Or are you a stranger without even a name,
Enclosed in forever behind a glass frame,
In an old photograph all torn battered and stained,
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame.
Did they beat the drum slowly ...
The sun now it shines on the green fields of France,
There's a warm summer breeze that makes the red poppies dance,
And look how the sun shines from under the trees,
There's no gas, no barbed wire, there's no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard it's still "No Man's Land",
The countless white crosses stand mute in the sand,
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man,
To a whole generation that were butchered and damned.
Did they beat the drum slowly ...
Ah, young Willie McBride I can't help wonder why,
Do all those who lie here know why did they die,
And did they believe when they answered the call,
Did they really believe that this war would end wars.
Well, the sorrow, the suffering, the glory, the pain,
The killing and dieing were all done in vain,
For young Willie McBride it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.