The Green Fields Of France
Ton : GEnglish
Couplet
GWell how do you Emdo young CWillie AmMcBride,
Do you Dmind if I D7sit here down Cby your Ggraveside,
And rest for a Emwhile neath the Cwarm summer Amsun,
I've been Dworking all D7day and CI'm Gnearly done.
I Gsee by your Emgravestone you were Conly Am19,
When you Djoined the great Cfallen in G1916, D7
I Ghope you died Emwell and I Amhope you died clean,
Or young DWillie D7McBride was it Cslow Gand obscene.
Refrain
GDid they Dbeat the drum D7slowly, did Cthey play the Gfife lowly,
Did they Dsound the dead D7march, as they Clowered Dyou down,
Did the Cband play the last post and GchoEmrus,
Did the Gpipes play the CFlowers of the D7Forest. G
Couplet
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.
Refrain
Did they beat the drum slowly ...
Couplet
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.
Refrain
Did they beat the drum slowly ...
Couplet
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 dying were all done in vain,
For young Willie McBride it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.