{t:Willie McBride (Green Fields of France)}
{st:Eric Bogle}


Well [C]how do you [Am]do young [F]Willie Mc[Dm]Bride,
Do you [G]mind if I sit here down [F]by your grav[C]eside,
And [C]rest for a [Am]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 [Am]gravestone you were [F]only nine[Dm]teen,
When you [G]joined the great fallen in [F]nineteen six[G]teen,
Well [C]I hope you died [Am]quick and I [Dm]hope you died clean,
Or [G]Willie McBride was it [F]slow and ob[C]scene.


[Chorus]
Did they [G]beat the drum slowly,
Did they [F]play the fife [C]lowly,
Did they [G]sound the death march, as they [F]lowered you [G]down,
Did the [F]band play the [Dm]Last Post in [C]chorus,[Am]
Did the [C]pipes play the [F]Flowers of the [G]Fores[C]t.



And did [C]you leave a [Am]wife or a [F]sweetheart [Dm]behind,
In [G]some loyal heart is your [F]memory ensh[C]rined,
And [C]though you died [Am]back in [F]nineteen six[Dm]teen,
To [G]that loyal heart you're [F]forever nine[C]teen.
Or [C]are you a [Am]stranger with[F]out even a [Dm]name,
For[G]ever enshrined behind [F]some old glass [G]pane,
In an [C]old photo[Am]graph all torn [Dm]tattered and stained,
And [G]faded to yellow in a [F]brown leather [C]frame.


[Chorus]
Did they [G]beat the drum slowly,
Did they [F]play the fife [C]lowly,
Did they [G]sound the death march, as they [F]lowered you [G]down,
Did the [F]band play the [Dm]Last Post in [C]chorus,[Am]
Did the [C]pipes play the [F]Flowers of the [G]Fores[C]t.




The [C]sun's shining [Am]down on these [F]green fields of [Dm]France,
The [G]warm wind blows gently and the [F]red poppies [C]dance,
The [C]trenches have [Am]vanished long [F]under the [Dm]plow
No [G]gas, no barbed wire, no [F]guns firing [C]now.
But [C]here in this [Am]graveyard it's [F]still "No Man's [Dm]Land",
The [G]countless white crosses in [F]mute witness [G]stand,
To [C]man's blind ind[Am]ifference to [Dm]his fellow man,
And a [G]whole generation that were [F]butchered and [C]damned.


[Chorus]
Did they [G]beat the drum slowly,
Did they [F]play the fife [C]lowly,
Did they [G]sound the death march, as they [F]lowered you [G]down,
Did the [F]band play the [Dm]Last Post in [C]chorus,[Am]
Did the [C]pipes play the [F]Flowers of the [G]Fores[C]t.



And [C]I can't help but [Am]wonder, oh [F]Willie Mc[Dm]Bride
Do [G]all those who lie here [F]know why they [C]died,
Did you [C]really be[Am]lieve them when they [F]told you the [Dm]cause
[G]Did they really believe that this [F]war would end [C]wars.
Well, th[C]e suffering, the [Am]sorrow, the [F]glory, the [Dm]shame
The [G]killing and dying it was [F]all done in [G]vain,
Oh [C]Willie Mc[Am]Bride it all [Dm]happened again,
And [G]again, and again, and ag[F]ain, and ag[C]ain.


[Chorus]
Did they [G]beat the drum slowly,
Did they [F]play the fife [C]lowly,
Did they [G]sound the death march, as they [F]lowered you [G]down,
Did the [F]band play the [Dm]Last Post in [C]chorus,[Am]
Did the [C]pipes play the [F]Flowers of the [G]Fores[C]t.