Fureys, Green Fields of France (Willie McBride) Lyrics

A High-Quality version of this popular folk song, sung by The Fureys and Davey Arthur.
Download the MP3 version here: amzn.to/2MIPMBZ
"No Man's Land" (also known as "The Green Fields of France" or "Willie McBride") is a song written in 1976 by Scottish Australian folk singer-songwriter Eric Bogle, reflecting on the grave of a young man who died in World War I.
It is Probably the finest anti-war song ever written and covered beautifully by ''The Fureys''. Eric has written tons of great songs. This song was also recorded by Ronnie Drew and The Dubliners and more recent by Celtic Thunder, The Dropkick Murphy's, John McDermott, Liam Clancy and the famous Irish tenor singer Ronan Tynan. It was recorded by the Irish ballad group The High Kings in 2016.
Its chorus refers to two famous pieces of military music, "The Last Post" and "The Flowers of the Forest". Its melody, its refrain ("did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly"), and elements of its subject matter (a young man cut down in his prime) are similar to those of "Streets of Laredo", a North American cowboy ballad whose origins can be traced back to an 18th-century English ballad called "The Unfortunate Rake" and the Irish Ballad "Lock Hospital".
In 2009 Eric told an audience in Weymouth that he'd read about a girl who had been presented with a copy of the song by then prime minister Tony Blair, who called it (unaware of the irony apparently) "his favourite anti-war poem". According to Eric, the framed copy of the poem was credited to him, but stated that he had been killed in World War I.
LYRICS and CHORDS
Well[C] how do you do young[F] Willy Mc[Dm] Bride
Do you[G] mind if I sit here down[C] by your grave[G]side
And[C] rest for a while in the[F] warm summer[Dm] sun
I've been[G] walking all day and[F] I'm nearly[C] done
I[C] see by your gravestone your were[F] only nine[Dm]teen
When you[G] joined the great falling in[C] nineteen fif[G]teen
Well I[C] hope you died well and I[F] hope you died[Dm] clean
Or young[G] Willy Mc Bride was it[F] slow and ob[C]scene
[Chorus]
Did[G] they beat the drum slowly ,did they[F] sound the fifes[C] lowly
Did they[G] sound the death march as they[F] lowered you[C] down
Did the[F] band play the last post and[G] chorus
Did the[F] pipes play the[Dm] flowers of the[G] fo[C]rest.
[2]
Did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some faithfull heart is your memory enshrined
And though you died back in nineteen fifteen
In some faith full heart are you forever nineteen
Or are you a stranger without even a name
Enshrined forever behind a glass frame
In an old photograph torn battered and stained
And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame.
[Repeat Chorus]
[3]
Well the sun now it shines on the green fields of France
There's a warm summer breeze it makes the red poppies dance
And look how the sun shines from under the cloudes
There's no gas no barbed wire , there's no gun firing now.
But here in this graveyard it's still no mans land
The countless white crosses stand mute in the sand
To man's blind indefference to his fellow man
To a whole generation that were butchered and dammed
[Repeat Chorus]
Well Will Mc Bride I cant help wonder why
Do those that 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 war
Well the sorrow the suffering the glory the pain
The killing the dying was all done in vain
For young Willy Mc Bride it all happened again
And again,and again,and again,and again

[@thinkbig3384]

I am an Army Veteran having served 23 years. I survived bullets and bombs, and yet a tumour will take my life very soon. I have asked for this track to be played at my funeral. Just like the Irish people, this track is both honest and beautiful x

[@Donmessa]

Thank you for your service.

[@I.said.what.you.said23]

This made me cry...I hope your still with us ...

[@notbraindead7298]

God bless you.

[@jco1915]

The meaning of this song is war is futile...n u are just a pawn in the big man's game of chess

[@ChillGamerLad]

you good bro?

[@shanedaly9737]

I was at a funeral Friday and they played this version of Willie mcbride and the whole church was in tears. The man who's funeral it was he was only 46 .you should never have to Bury a child. The funeral was packed with young ,older, and the ones getting on in life.Thank you if you read this 🙏Slainte

[@katewallis6103]

This song has always tested my tear-ducts. On the rare occasions I visit the N. Hemisphere, from New Zealand, I always try to visit a WW1 cemetery. Last year I spent the day at the Allied Cemetery at Souda Bay, Crete. It was about 40 degrees and the air alive with humming insects. My Great-Uncles served, none were lost in Greece but I love how the Cretan people still remember the 'Kiwis' they risked their lives to shelter. At Souda Bay I walked the rows and said each name aloud, lest they had no-one left to say it. I signed the book and sat in the garden for a while. The entire place is meticulously cared for. Please, any Kiwis or Aus going to Crete, try to visit Souda Cemetery. I like to think that all those young men, our rellies, would appreciate it.

[@zosha1946]

Listening again. Happens again, again, again. Mans blind indifference to his fellow man. We’ve learned nothing.

[@samanthamurphy9835]

Rip to my nephew Martin who loved this song 😢

[@williammcbride2133]

My granda used to sing this to me when I was little, unfortunately he's now close to passing with cancer. Flooding back so many memories.

[@deborahbarnes6741]

💔

[@Mr102228]

Thank you, Eric Bogle, for such a meaningful, beautiful song.

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

I was in Ireland and fought for our independence from Britain. This song resonates in my heart. Slainte😊 Gerry Giffney.

[@kierabyrnemusic]

Thank you, Sir. Go raibh míle maith agat. 💚🇮🇪☘️

[@glenhoddle7694]

How fecking old are you. Or have you just admitted to been in the RA

[@Cinnerman87]

My ancestors were the McCarthy dynasty and even though I'm English by birth the Irish blood within me burns with pride for everything our little island has achieved

[@megafishtank1]

Fureys ,what a voice but Eric Bogle ability to write music what a genius

[@rudolfgerstenberger4987]

Great anti-war song written by Eric Bogle born in Peebles, Scotland who emigrated to Australia when he was 21. Sung brilliantly by the Fureys.

[@seantheseguysarethebestfis5461]

One of the greatest songs ever written

[@mariehayes3475]

Agreed, it's a fantastic song

[@brucecollins4729]

@@mariehayes3475 written by a scotsman eric bogle(look up eric bogles no mans land for the original lyric and chorus. he was visiting a war cemetery in belgium and saw all the young soldiers graves so he was inspired to write this song in memory of them. contrary to popular belief it,s not about one soldier.

[@kierabyrnemusic]

​@brucecollins4729 He gave the soldier an Irish name as a counter to the anti-Irish sentiment prevalent in Britain at the time.

[@ulsterpatriot1420]

Beautiful song. There were thousands of " Willie McBrides" who fell in foreign fields. Young men from all over Ireland, North and South! May they all rest in peace!

[@Klumzed]

RIP. But do you know that the British forced these people to do this?

[@ulsterpatriot1420]

@@Klumzed No one was forced. Volunteers

[@nostreamavailable9090]

Amen 🙏🏻

[@nostreamavailable9090]

@@Klumzed shut up you sh*t stirring c*nt Have more respect for the fallen Regardless of the politics If you’re so desperate for trouble go and have a fight in a pub or something Don’t bring it here

[@michaelmarron8441]

@@Klumzed That is not true. The Military Service Act 1916 was an Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom during the First World War to impose conscription in Great Britain, but not in Ireland or any other country around the world.

[@jamesdavison2927]

I.just heard this played on a Houston radio station CRYING ......WOW!!!! Moving moving song My GOODNESS TALK ABOUT PERSPECTIVE CORRECTORS- I just worked a volunteer job for an organization that supports families that have kids with cancer Now THIS SONG need to listen to it when I think my problems are gigantic ALL THE GRATITUDE POSSIBLE FIR ALL THOSE WHO PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR FREEDOM♥️

[@TheTubeLovers]

Only learned of this from the Try channel. Absinthe episode.

[@Jrocknrolla]

LOL Why I"m here! :)

[@m1lkman1974]

@@Jrocknrolla Me too!!! LOL!!!

[@FindThisArtist]

this deserves yet another shout, very well said

[@jefftappan3091]

Same here.

[@margaretotoole3978]

Margaret O'Toole. Absolutely beautiful. Gives me chills. Grew up listening to this music. RIP Dad. Still miss you 28+ years later

[@susanjackett9268]

This song always reminds me of my two wonderful grandfathers. One at the Somme, the other worked the pits to provide fuel during WW1 . Both brave, hardworking, and above endowed with a gentle humility and forbearance born out of the suffering of war.

[@brianocallaghan7172]

born out of the suffering of war. . . .that says it all. God Rest your noble grandfathers endowed with gentle humility.

[@susanjackett9268]

@@brianocallaghan7172 thank you, my maternal grandfather was 84 at his demise but never really got over the tragedy of the Somme, he was a sniper.

[@I.said.what.you.said23]

Sang it last night at a Christmas party and couldn't believe 25 years later I knew every word...had to come find it......🧡🇮🇪☘️💚

[@rossprentice9223]

You know it’s not an Irish song right ?

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

What a great song emits all of us. Gerry Giffney

[@sharonshaw9167]

This song always reminds me of my mum ..was one of her favourites. Such a beautiful powerful song always brings me to 😢

[@edwardoleyba3075]

Powerful Song.

[@joemummerth8340]

the best of the anti war songs !

[@jco1915]

The brst

[@davidcraig4543]

Imagine by John Lennon is also a great song.

[@kellywalsh709]

Proud to be of Irish Heritage. My 20 year old has just sent me a video of her singing this song as it was sung to me as a child. Heartbreaking song ❤❤❤

[@brucecollins641]

@kellywalsh709 ...this is a scottish song though, written by eric bogle out of respect for all the soldiers in a ww1 cemetery he was visiting. the name mcbride was jist used as it rhymed with graveside. not about an individual soldier. erics original title...no mans land...

[@vercingetorix3414]

The two McBrides, Willie and Arthur, are my favorite characters in music.

[@jobodley553]

My Irish grandfather fought in WW1, he gave my father the middle name of Nery, after a town in France where many Irish soldiers were killed.

[@dazz1059]

So beautiful

[@martymountebank5995]

Marvellous words

[@itspipexd4035]

Top band..one of the best singers in ireland finbar irish legend 👍👍

[@declanryan6540]

Beautiful

[@sarraconnolly6856]

Just beautiful!

[@fulanichild3138]

Best antiwar song ever written.

[@novo611]

Wow. Fantastic 😢

[@sadhbhbullimore1724]

my favourite

[@alexanderschestag3247]

Great video to a great song! Thank you!

[@berylscott3329]

Amazing

[@anneliamohara2842]

My Grandfather survived the battle of the Somme , Dublin Fusillers , he lost his wright arm , came back to Dublin met my grandmother who was involved in the 1916 rising , they got married and the rest is history!

[@TheCrownGuyYT]

My brother only 12 years old did sueaside he was being bullied all his life he was singing this song when he was 10 i still cant bealeave hes gone 💔

[@MartinMoodie]

So sorry Myna, lost my sister to suicide

[@christinemary7101]

So sorry for you both , I too lost my sister , to suicide , the pain is unbearable , to think about ,

[@marcelaoyarce5384]

Great, and with the lyrics now I can sing it along, thanks thanks

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

I sang this song when I was in the military.Slainte.😊😊

[@johnconnor2054]

Lovely song 🎵✅

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

I am a military police in Ireland and sang this brilliant song.😊. Gerry.

[@SarahMcclelland-n4s]

So beautiful 😢

[@marykeogh8866]

So moving. I don't believe in war

[@maltandbarley-ti8ck]

A song to touch your soul.

[@donaldpaffey6595]

No peace in this world, all the time the greedy people of this world want more of everything.

[@susanmorris6746]

Love this 🙌

[@sadhbhbullimore1724]

this is going 2 be the song o f my first dnc at my weddn ^_^

[@BrianClonmel]

Fair play thank you Finbar

[@itspipexd4035]

Great voice finbar great man 👍

[@matthew2008able]

Finbar fury before you passed. My dad still speaks highly of you and the wise words you once gave him on the music entertainment business. Remembering the time as a kid you & brothers slept on mattresses on our floor in the Ballymum flats in Dublin. Amazing voice RIP. ☘❤

[@richardnoone6423]

Finbarr Fury is not dead.

[@matthew2008able]

@@richardnoone6423 hes not? This is so hilarious am crying 🤣🤣 wouldnt sent to be lying. Let me get back to you on this!

[@matthew2008able]

@@richardnoone6423 appoligies if any offence taken. You are so right. Thanks for highlighting this to me and long life to finbar. Trying to get my old man to rack his brian's about this conversation. He thought I said finbar was dead. He almost had a shock 🙂couldn't believe said hed hear about it if so.. Finbar gave him some sound advice over the years but hes very much alive. Older age hey! Cheers!

[@arthurlawrence2765]

Classic

[@adrianesslinger6665]

Opa mein Engel ❤❤❤

[@tonymaxwell949]

MOST just know the tune not the lyrics and what this song means but who cares i know and i love it

[@juliedinsmore2148]

Both sides of the north of ireland love this song

[@sxmjn2546]

Even though I’m British, it’s still a brilliant song that resonates with the masses

[@richardmooney8216]

Its about a soldier dying in ww1...google eric bogle no mans land

[@rickburgess9988]

Eric Bogle is a Scot (Now Australian) who chose the mythical soldier Willie McBride to have an Irish name to overcome some of the negative views of the Irish in the UK at that time.

[@MimiYouyu]

Peace on Earth.❤

[@janetstevenson9580]

My grandfather lost two brothers in the first World War

[@natashaferran420]

Love this song. Although annoyingly it remind me of my ex as he always sang it

[@janekennedy4528]

yes indeed x

[@katherinefurey5291]

Excellent behaviour

[@candicelawrence2495]

Tt a best song

[@candicelawrence2495]

It a best so

[@candicelawrence2495]

It the best song

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

Come on and Remember or losses in the war. 😊❤. Gerry Giffney the man who helped sort the Good Friday agreement.

[@SandySalmansohn]

Did you ever notice that you can interchange this tune with “The Mountains of Mourne” and vice versa?

[@deborahbarnes6741]

​@@AMULET72 like "Back Home in Derry" & "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

[@TheLeahygirl]

Many Irish airs have different words. The Foggy Dew being just one.

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

Gerry Giffney Won singing This Song in 1998, ❤😊, The wonderful Man who protected my Family. Slainte.

[@Xico900]

The waste of War ,consume life to a end .. i asked My God why is this the most defestating act a human can do to others... really why... So many many loses so many pain ..instead life can be so .. Humans i will never ever understand why we do what we al do.. Again eachother.. please stop. Pleade do for yhe sake of being a human. Please do...stop

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

Gerry Giffney and this song episodes,Slainte

[@rabwtf9325]

Remember the somme

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

Gerry Giffney says what is wrong with remember the past,❤😂. Gerry Giffney who helped peace in Ireland. Slainte

[@joshuapaterson9746]

Where are u

[@TeresaBowman-j8y]

I helped our Prime Minister sort the Good Friday agreement. Echoes of the past.😊 Gerry.

[@pmcd6414]

They banned this music from temple bar lest it disturb the tourist in us all.

[@sysiphuscorinth]

The point of this song is that none of that happened.. there was no glory, noe pipes, no fifes, no lowering, no death march, no band.. they died in shit and squalor and a lot shot by there own side when the bombing was too much and as a 17 year old you ran.. but you deserted.. 18% of all "British" forces were shot by their own army.. as deserters

[@ulsterpatriot1420]

I agree with some of what you say Ronan. Thousands did die in horrific circumstances and are lying in graves, many unmarked in foreign fields. My own grandfather and his two younger brothers fought at the Somme and other battles. My grandfather was only 21 and his brothers were 19 and 17 ( told them he was 18). They all returned home to Co. Antrim. The 19 year old was shot through the face at the Somme and left for dead in no man's land. Bullet went in through one cheek and exited through the other, badly damaging his pallet and removing his teeth. He was found and carried back to the trenches and then to hospital. He had a bad speech impediment for rest of his life . My grandfather died before I was born but my mother told me he never talked about the war and the carnage he witnessed. He did mention about ones being executed by firing squad to her and that badly affected him. Nowadays we know these young kids were shell shocked, disorientated. Yes, some wandered off and were shot for cowardice but it was a mere few ( not 18%) as you stated. My grandfather was a Seargeant and was ordered to shoot a young lad for desertion. He refused as he knew the lad and his family. Some other poor sods had to carry it out. They were all volunteers , not conscripted. There were many volunteers from all corners of Ireland of both religions and all should be honoured! This song is about the futility of war ! There were no pipes when they were buried quickly in random fields! But over the years hundreds of thousands have gone to these battlefields and cemeteries and have honoured the fallen. I believe the youngest person killed was only 14 or 15 and was from Ireland and was an RC. Another who lied about his age. Although this song is fictitious it does capture the futility of a young lost life and is warmly embraced by many.

[@gillharrison5470]

Where are the stats?

[@majellaregan3340]

lay the blanket on the ground

[@ThomasRyan-jy8mm]

😢❤🫡🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪

[@TheLeahygirl]

My great-uncle Richard died aged 18 in WWI. His name is in the Books of Rememberance. I lost other family in the Civil war and the War of Independence. Ireland won't be free until the brits are gone one and all. Tiocfaidh ár lá.

[@asonofharoldgodwin]

Another song hijacked by the Irish ! Willie Mcbride was only used because it rhymed. It's about all soldiers who now lie in France and Flanders 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇳🇬🇧

[@cormacbrowne9571]

You display your ignorance. Go listen to the interview of the the songs author by an Irish journalist and historian of RTE radio 1.

[@benitolonard4441]

Eric Bogle said the name Willie McBride was used because of it's Irishness. But hey I guess you're one of these nobodies who mistakenly think they know it all

[@cecircinn2908]

@@benitolonard4441 10.02 tells you what actually said 1 It rhymed with graveside 2 To Scotsmen and Irishmen McBride is an Irish name with Irish connotations Northern Irish mostly a subtle reminder of the sacrifice a lot of Irish lads made in WW1 with the song being written at a time when IRA were bombing of mainland Britain was at its height and there was anti Irish feeling at that time kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHTSlIZsfbylrLM

[@Jett7182]

I'm half Irish & claim these lyrics for my 1st cousin who has a front row grave looking out over Omaha Beach, Colville Sur Mer, American Military Cemetery in France. RIP Joe ❤❤

[@asonofharoldgodwin]

@@benitolonard4441 So it's not about all the fallen who gave their lives on the Western Front, or any Front in any War. It is a anti war song, is it not? You'll be one of those who also thinks "Dirty old Town" is an Irish song about an Irish Town 🤣🤣🤣

[@123macks]

🔴⚪️🔵

[@rebeccabrown77]

Lol this song

[@sully1865]

What is that supposed to mean???? Are you seriously laughing at this song?

[@JamesRDavenport]

@@sully1865 Hmm. Maybe she just doesn't like the voice of the lead singer (I hope?)

[@RenegadeShepTheSpacer]

Go back to the kitchen.

[@RonpaMr]

Click on her name it takes you to her video, shes a child and clearly an ignorant one. My grandfather is buried on the Sere road, He fell at the Somme, 1st July 1916, a few months before his son, my father, was born and raised in poverty in a land fit for heroes so people can comment about things they don't understand.

[@mrcumbria]

She is just a child people and totally unaware of its meaning. Don't be angry at her as I'm sure we all don't like ksi, stormzy etc etc.