Willie Mcbride's reply. A response to Eric Bogles Green fields of France from a soldier. !!

As profound as green fields of France is a song, it asks questions that can't be answered. However I like think that Stephen Suffet captured the response that those lost souls would have given.... I hope !!

[@rossgage9730]

It should be remembered that when this and Waltzing Matilda was written, the view of WW1 had changed as a result of the Vietnam Conflict still raw. I still side with Eric Bogle's sentiment in his lyrics. Out of the near 300000 Australians who served in that theatre, some 46,000 were killed in action or died from other causes. More than 100,000 were wounded. 10000 have no known resting place. Many more died post war due to long term effects of gas and wounds.

[@alanfox1309]

That was beautiful. took me back to a time in sat with my great aunt sally over 50 years ago. going through a full suit case of old old photo's of young men who never came home. as she named every one of them friends, relatives. and a sweet heart. who never came home. thank you.

[@karenadamsacupuncture2402]

Owen Atwell - I love that you have given us a soldier's view of service. I've just come from our local Memorial Day observance (in US) and I work with veterans as an acupuncturist. I also grew up in the 60s and have been a pacifist for many years. The veterans I see have showed me that sometimes someone has to stand up and do the hard thing. The price you pay to do that, whether you saw combat or not, should be honored and never forgotten. I'm glad you're safe, and thank you very much for this song.

[@LaurenceGray-et7sb]

I am a veteran who works at a veteran's hospital helping to take care of my fellow veterans and I will say that you seem to understand us veterans. Also, I have learned that helping my fellow veterans has helped me deal less destructively and negatively with my own psychological, emotional, and mental problems such as PTSD.

[@jurgenmagnus4041]

This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for keeping the memory alive. We will remember them.

[@lesleyelalami2562]

Brilliant..... listened to Willie McBride for decades, didn't realise there was his response. Delightful... and sad at the same time. Thank you. x

[@kevinbennett404]

That is the sweetest voice, the most emotive piece of music I've ever heard !!

[@alxwil898]

Came across this and really enjoyed your version of the song. I hadn't heard it before, but it really is a beautiful reply to the green fields of France and gives a different perspective. Well done Owen.

[@owenatwell]

Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@ceolwulf]

Lovely song in reply to one of my favourite folk songs of all

[@stevendone5493]

Excellent!!

[@jacquismith3277]

You said it!

[@stanboyd5820]

Aye, that's probably the reply young Willie would have given.

[@thomasanderson7454]

Much respect! Thank you!

[@me24601]

Wow. Thank you, that was amazing!

[@IainClarke-lg9xz]

Beautiful song and well sung. Superb.

[@susanlaird5154]

Really enjoyed this song. Give us more Willie Mcbride.

[@owenatwell]

Thank you.. I do have a cover of Eric bogles original song that I posted on my Chanel in November 22 if you want to listen.

[@susanlaird5154]

@@owenatwell yes I will listen to it.

[@angelokrizmanic7564]

excellent reply... rest well Wilie

[@blucheer8743]

Dublin Poet Thomas Kettle said of fighting for the British in WW1 “we fought not for kith nor Kin, nor king or country but for that ideal born in a manger: peace of earth good will toward men” I always though explained a lot

[@ianscott424]

This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you. Love the "Green Fields of France", and this just absolutely compliments it with such beauty and grace.

[@SBPilgram]

Wow!! So Beautiful

[@JamesDeemons]

Great song, Nice play, Thanks

[@M4VRIK13]

Damn man you have me in tears all over again

[@lewisdart7473]

Wow 😮this is brilliant! So talented

[@owenatwell]

Thank you mate

[@kinnonkerr6532]

Great song I am goni learn it thank you best wishes Kinnon.

[@filippogiannellimoneta133]

Great voice

[@1allstarman]

well done !

[@fredrobinson7552]

beautiful xx

[@Grendel2912]

That is awesome

[@jefftitterington7600]

Thank you, sir. My wife's great-uncle returned to PEI from Vimy Ridge. One of mine did not.

[@murdocdiesel]

Thank you.

[@pulktheband9106]

Brilliant 😢

[@KetofolKing]

Very well done.

[@owenatwell]

Thank you mate

[@paulmcquaid2940]

Owen. Clever, poignant and a great compliment to the classic. TQ

[@amandapollock5308]

I didn't catch all of the lyrics but i think i got the gist of it... Loved it.

[@skylolo50]

Well done in all respect ❣

[@thomasshepard6030]

Fantastic cover

[@heidibecker118]

It's not a cover. It's an adaptation. Bogle's lyrics are timeless. Steve 'I'm still reluctant to think of myself as a songwriter' Suffet went for a different approach. For the better or the worse...

[@derry1423]

Very good buddy

[@owenatwell]

Thank you for taking the time to watch. !

[@cindyziegra2596]

❤‼️‼️‼️🌷 I’ve been there!

[@davidsherman9280]

Superb response to the original from the soldiers perspective. And i think that perspective is that there is a justification for war and some things are worth dying for. And i suspect Eric's response might be that perspective perpetuates hopelessness and endless war. Maybe someday peacemakers will prevail.

[@chriscarter5720]

War is an awful thing not least because it cannot avoid the 'collateral damage' to those who should not be involved. If, as an individual you saw a bully beating up a weaker individual and another fought the bully to save the victim, would you not applaud his intervention? Or do you believe that to avoid violence we should allow the bully to carry out his attack unopposed? As a retired military man I believe that war is like the bully and the victim. We, as states, should not stand by and allow aggression to go unresisted and I, as an individual, was prepared to risk and, if necessary, lay down my life to stop the aggressor from achieving his aim. Until such time as Humanity as a whole comes to believe that nobody should try to take what they want by force we will live with war and its consequences.

[@davidsherman9280]

@@chriscarter5720 Your response is what our reality looks like and i completely agree with you. The original song is a dream of a more perfect world that all sane people should aspire too. But until then we must fight . Thank you.

[@ThothBob]

as a veteran, i was moved greatly by the original 'No Man's Land". I was also willing to give this response's perspective some credit too, except when it got what i felt was a bit snarky near the end. Even so, both songs have important messages, and to borrow and paraphrase a phrase from another anti-war song, I think that message is that there are so many things worth dying for, but so little worth killing over. there is a big difference, and i wish we could heed it better.

[@matthewellisor5835]

A beautiful answer to the song but I pray that you only received the story by the song: Did the band play the Last Post in chorus, did the pipes play The Flowers of The Forest?

[@unbelievable5791]

Good job there Owen 👍🏻

[@craig-duncan]

This is great! I paid a visit to Willie McBrides grave in France... viewable on my channel.

[@Twisted1690]

do you mind posting the lyrics mate

[@frankelly5986]

Thank you for knowing the song was written by Eric Bogle, ty so bored of people singing finbar, Jerry....

[@stephenbramlet3180]

Beautiful and sung with great emotion but hardly a satisfying answer to Eric Bogle’s song « it was’nt for glory and empire’s pride »perhaps it wasn’t for Willie Mc Bride but it was alas for so many soldiers of so many wars who were taught to tell right from wrong certainly and and did believe they stood up for freedom when they were actually fighting for glory and pride…

[@teamchoko001]

great stuff should get your self online so we can download your songs,,

[@fergallawlor5829]

🇮🇪

[@meganstorm3248]

Yeeeeahhhhh.... WWI was a complete waste. It wasn't about oppression. There was no point. It was what happened when medieval politics & disregard for peasant life collided with the birth of modern warfare. The survivors agreed on one thing: that it was pure waste, entire generations lost for nothing but rich men's pride, and that the only hope left was that maybe, just maybe, it was so horrific that nobody would ever go to war again. That's why they called it the War to end war. Keep Willie McBride's name out of your mouth until you can show some real respect. This is desecration.

[@owenatwell]

Thank you for your very enlightening and informed comment. It’s good to know that you have spoken to every survivor of the First World War and they have all confirmed to you that they agree on one single view point. I have no doubt that many many people do feel that it was nothing but a waste.. I don’t disagree. But the point of the song, I believe, isn’t about what survivors feel with the benefit of knowing the outcome and the repeated conflicts since. The point of the song is to capture what I hope the many many young people who cared enough to volunteer to fight in that god awful war, believed at the time. Maybe just maybe there was some comfort to them as they lived and died through it all, that their actions were for the good of mankind and they may In fact end all wars. Even if that never proved to be true with the passing of time. None of us will ever know the answer to that but to explore it as an option shows hope that it wasn’t all a waste … or in vain if you will. You seem to have missed the point. the original song asked the questions based on the knowledge of the outcome. The reply speaks for the people who never got the chance to learn it. Those who volunteered did so for a reason. I am almost certain that they didn’t do so saying “this seems like a waste…. I’m in”. I would argue that discounting this courage as a complete waste is in fact far more of a desecration than this song. But hey that is only my opinion… and I certainly dont claim to know what every soldier who fought would agree on. I’m just a veteran who has seen a fraction of conflict they did and I a in awe of each and everyone of them. I say this with the utmost respect for your point of view and opinion. Thank you for sharing it.

[@willeel3750]

You got it right. As I listened to the song I was trying to remember who the oppressors were and who was oppressed.

[@LupercusArchanus]

Thank you for this reply. The original song infuriates me every time that I hear it. It insults the dead and his payment of the ultimate sacrifice. This reply gives voice to why young men came to France.

[@terryjackson3248]

So ''Willie Mcbride'' can not answer the 2 questions actually asked. You mealy quote a more modern BS phrase, made up to justify torture, war crimes, illegal acts of war and illegal occupations by the west. The CAUSE of WW1, did Willie believe this was ''the war to end all wars''. I like history. My grandfather fought in WW1, my Father in WW2. I served in the Brit. Army, shot at, seeing IED's, by terrorists armed, financially backed, supported and given safe haven by the US. Propaganda phrases are meaningless.

[@owenatwell]

Likewise brother. Sounds like we visited the same parts of the world for the same reason. I don’t claim to say what was a just cause, or what wasn’t. I just hope that the last thoughts of those who did give their lives for something, believed in that moment, that it was a just cause ( whether they were right or wrong) because maybe, that may have given them some comfort in their final moments. I wish that for those I knew and those countless who passed before my time in every war that has past. And I hope the same for every soldier in every war that is yet to come of which I am sure there are many. I don’t care about the politics, I never have. I care about the people and if there was any comfort to be found by any of them by believing something… I hope they found it. Thanks for listening brother and thanks for your comment.

[@user-gm5bv2ez2r]

cliché & shallow

[@djc1234]

Like your whole personality, perhaps?

[@erikbell4675]

Maybe you should play this again...and actually LISTEN this time! Nothing cliche' nor shallow about it!

[@kevincomery1634]

Shallow eh ' well that comment shows how little you know .Absolute fkg carnage wave after wave after wave of good men following orders going over the top of trenches being slaughted n still they went over we cannot thank every country enough that fought with us the losses the maimings Wear the poppy with pride say a silent. Thank you to all our veterans which ever conflict Anzac's we don't forget God bless you all.

[@kinnonkerr6532]

Is there a way to get the words and chords to this song best wishes Kinnon.