Four Green Fields chords
by Jim McCann- Four Green Fields was written by Tommy Makem in 1967. He was an Irish folk musician well-known for his associations with The Clancy Brothers as well as Liam Clancy of Makem and Clancy fame.
- This version of the song is by Jim McCann from the album By Request.
- Music: Key of G Major in 3/4 time at ~ 100 - 102 bpm (♩)
- Chords: G, D, C, Em, Am, D7, Dsus2
Four Green Fields
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key G
Intro: 3/4 | | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 |
G D G C G
1. What did I have Said the fine old wo-man
G D G C Am D Dsus2
What did I have This proud old wo-man did say | |
G D Em G C D Dsus2
I had four green fields Each one was a jew-el | |
G D Em C Am D Dsus2
But strang-ers came And tried to take them from me | |
G D Em G C D Dsus2
I had fine strong sons They fought to save my jew-els | |
C D7 G Em G D G
They fought and they died And that was my grief said she | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 |
G D G C G
2. Long time a-go Said the fine old wo-man
G D G C Am D Dsus2
Long time a-go This proud old wo-man did say | |
G D Em G C D Dsus2
There was war and death Plund-er-ing and pill-age | |
G D Em C Am D Dsus2
My child-ren starved By mount-ain vall-ey and sea | |
G D Em G C D Dsus2
And their wail-ing cries They reached the ver-y heav-ens | |
C D7 G Em G D G
My four green fields Ran red with their blood said she | 𝄎 | 𝄎 | 𝄎 |
G D G C G
3. What have I now Said the fine old wo-man
G D G C Am D Dsus2
What have I now This proud old wo-man did say | |
G D Em G C D Dsus2
I have four green fields One of them's in bond-age | |
G D Em C Am D Dsus2
In strang-er's hands Who tried to take it from me | |
G D Em G C D Dsus2
And my sons have sons As brave as were their fath-ers | |
C D7 G Em G D G
My four green fields _ Will bloom once a-gain said she | 𝄎 |
C D7 G Em G D C G
My four green fields _ Will bloom once a-gain said she | |...Notes:
- Level Of Ease: Easy
- Song Key: This version of the song is in the key of G major (1 sharp - F#)
- 3/4 time: This means 3 quarter-note beats per bar, therefore the count is
| 1 2 3 | or |1& 2& 3& | or in this case where you are playing a hammer-on hammer-off on the the 3rd beat of the bar | 1& 2& 3&& | etc. - Tempo: approximately 100 - 102 BPM.
- The Intro | G |... x6 can be played as | G / G-h |... x 6 where you hammer on and off on the 3rd beat of each bar.
- The same applies to the end of verses 1 & 2 where there are 4 bars of the G chord. Instead of playing | G | G | G | G | - you can play | G | G / G-h | G | G |
- h means to hammer-on: you bring your finger(s) down on the fingerboard sharply, causing a note or chord to sound. To hammer-off is to simply lift your finger off after a hammer-on creating a small trill. In this instance, the hammer-on and hammer-off occurs on the & of the 3rd beat of the bar which is played on the C-note located on the 1st fret-string 2. (xxxx1x)
- In this example you will count the bar as 1& 2& 3&& - the && is played in the same time as &.
| G / G-h | is actually | G (1&) G (2&) G (3) hammer-on C note (&) hammer-off C note (&) |
This means that you play G for 2 beat counts and the 3rd beat count is split in 3 so that the hammer-on-off actually occurs on the && of 3&&, with the 3 being an open G chord played with fingers 2,3 and 4 while finger 1 plays the hammer-on (C note) & hammer-off (C note).
Play it slowly counting the beats as you go... you will hear this if you are playing with the video. - You don't have to play the hammer on. It provides a bit of interest and it teaches you a little more about guitar technique.
- If you are not playing with the video, you don't have to play the 4 bars of G at the end of verses 1 & 2 - you may prefer 2 bars.
- I have added a Dsus2 which is included in the video. Again you can just continue with a D chord or you can spice it up a bit using a Dsus4. Whichever chord you decide on, it will still sound fine.
Jim McCann
Born: James McCann on the 26th October 1944 in Dublin, Ireland
Died: 5th March, 2015 (aged 70)
Occupation: Musician
Instruments: Vocals, guitar
Active Years: 1964–2015
Music Styles: Folk
