The Orange and the Green chords
by The Irish RoversSong Key: D Major
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 122 bpm
Standard Guitar Tuning: E A D G B e
Skill Level: Beginner 🟢
Guitar Chords: D, A, A7, G, Bm, Em (see charts)
Play-Along Video & Chord Charts
Play-Along Video
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Speed: x0.1
The Orange and the Green
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key D A G D A A7 D
Intro: 4/4 ‖ | % | | % | | | - | ‖
Bm Em A G D A A7 D
‖ | % | | % | | | | - | ‖
D A
Chorus: Oh it is the big-gest mix-up that you have e-ver seen
G D A A7 D
My fath-er he was O-range and me moth-er she was Green
D A
1. Oh my fa-ther was an Ulst-er man Proud Pro-tes-tant was he
G D A A7 D
My mo-ther was a Cath-o-lic girl From Count-y Cork was she
Bm Em A
They were mar-ried in two church-es Lived hap-pi-ly e-nough
G D A A7 D
Un-til the day that I was born And things got rather tough... Chorus:
D A
2. Bap-tized by Fath-er Ri-ley I was rushed a-way by car
G D A A7 D
To be made a lit-tle O-range-man Me fa-ther's shin-ing star
Bm Em A
I was Chris-ten-ed Dav-id An-tho-ny But still in spite of that
G D A A7 D
To my fa-ther I was Will-iam While my mo-ther called me Pat... Chorus:
D A
3. With Mo-ther ev-‘ry Sun-day To Mass I'd proud-ly stroll
G D A A7 D
Then aft-er that the O-range lodge Would try to save my soul
Bm Em A
For both sides tried to claim me But I was smart be-cause
G D A A7 D
I'd play the flute I’d play the harp De-pend-ing where I was... Chorus:
D A
4. One day me Ma's re-lat-ions came round to vis-it me
G D A A7 D
Just as my fa-ther's kin-folk were all sit-ting down to tea
Bm Em A
We tried to smooth things o-ver But they all be-gan to fight
G D A A7 D
And me be-ing strict-ly neut-ral I bashed ev'ry-one in sight... Chorus:
D A
5. Now my par-ents nev-er could a-gree a-bout my type of school
G D A A7 D
My learn-ing was all done at home That's why I'm such a fool
Bm Em A
They've both passed on God rest 'em But left me caught be-tween
G D A A7 D
That aw-ful col-our prob-lem of the O-range and the Green... Chorus X 2
D A G D A A7 D
Outro: ‖ | % | | % | | | - | ‖
Bm Em A G D A A7 D
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Arrangement Details:
- Key Signature: D Major – 2 sharps (F#, C#)
- Time Signature: 4/4 — Four quarter-note beats per measure
- Tempo: Moderately bright
- Metronome: ♩ = 122
- Voice Range: C4 - D5
- Chord Types in This Arrangement:
- Major chords: D, G, A
- Minor chords: Em, Bm
- Dominant 7th chords: A7
- 🎸 Beginner Guitarists: If you haven't learned to play barre chords, Bm can be played in the open-position which is displayed in the charts above. It takes a little getting used to, but very achievable with practice.
This gives you a simplified Bm which does include all the notes (F#–B–D), but doesn't lead with the tonic or root note (B). It still captures the essence of the chord without needing the barre.
This voicing consists of the notes: F# – B – D – F#.
The lowest note here is F# (on the D string).
This is considered the second inversion of Bm with F# as the bass note. - | A - A7 | means you play the A for 2 beat counts and A7 chord for 2 beat counts. The hyphen between the 2 chords splits the beat count evenly between the 2 chords in the bar.
- The repeat sign % means you repeat the chord from the previous bar.
- The guitarist uses mostly down strokes for each beat count, due to the pace of the song.
The 1st and 3rd beats of each bar are bass notes, while the 2nd and 4th beats are strummed.
It would look something like this:
| Bass - Strum - Bass - Strum |
Every now and then some strumming is added to break things up a little.
Song Details:
- Songwriter: Anthony Murphy
- Brief: A song about a man who had a Protestant father (orange), and a Catholic mother (green) - follows his life from birth to adulthood, and how mixed up he was due to his parents' religious differences.
- Lyrics Begin: Oh it is the biggest mix-up that you have ever seen, my father he was Orange and me mother she was Green
- Genre: Irish Folk Song
- Featured Artists: The Irish Rovers
- Album: The Unicorn
Released: 1967 (US)
Format: 12" Vinyl
Label: Decca - EP:
Released: 1968 (Australia)
Songs: The Orange and the Green, Whiskey on a Sunday, Goodbye Mrs Durkin, Pat of Mullingar
