The music to The Minstrel Boy is set to the melody of an old Irish 'Air' called The Moreen, while the lyrics were written by Thomas Moore - an Irish singer, songwriter, poet and entertainer from Dublin, Ireland.
This version of the song by John McDermott is featured on his album Danny Boy.
Music: Key of D Major in 4/4 time at 72 bpm (♩)
Chords: D, A, A7, Asus4, Bm, G, F#7
Capo: 1st fret if playing with the video (Eb Major)
The Minstrel Boy
Song Key is highlighted - Transpose to any other key
D A G A D A Bm G A D Asus4 A DIntro: 4/4 |---♩| | / | / | / |
D G D A Bm
1. The Min-strel boy to the war is gone
G D Asus4 A D
In the ranks of death you'll fi - ind him
D G D A Bm
His fath-er's sword he has gird-ed on
G D Asus4 A D
And his wild harp slung be - hi - ind him
Bm G A7 A
Land of Song! Said the war-rior bard
Bm D F#7 Bm F#7 Bm
Tho' all the world be - tra - ays thee
D G D A Bm
One sword at least thy rights shall guard
G D Asus4 A D
One faith-ful harp shall pra - aise thee
D G D Bm G D A DInstr: | - | - | - | - |
D G D A Bm
2. The Min-strel fell but the foe man's chain
G D Asus4 A D
Could not bring his proud soul u – un - der
D G D A Bm
The harp he loved ne'er spoke a - gain
G D Asus4 A D
For he tore its chords a – su – un - der
Bm G A7 A
And said no chains shall sul-y thee
Bm D F#7 Bm F#7 Bm
Thou soul of love and bra – av’ - ry
D G D A Bm
Thy songs were made for the pure and free
G D Asus4 A D
They shall nev-er sound in sla - av’- ry
Bm G A7 A
Land of Song! Said the war-rior bard
Bm D F#7 Bm F#7 Bm
Tho' all the world be - tra - ays thee
D G D A Bm
One sword at least thy rights shall guard
G D Asus4 A D
One faith-ful harp shall pra - aise thee
D G D Bm G D A DOutro: | - | - | - | - |
Level Of Ease: Fairly Easy with only a couple of barre chords
Song Key: Eb Major... 3 flats - (Bb, Eb, Ab)
Song Key with capo on the 1st fret: D Major... 1 sharp - (F#)
In the Intro, the violin brings the band in with a note played on the 4th beat of the 1st bar. The band comes in on the second bar.
There are several chord changes in the 4 bars of Intro. If you find this a little hard, simply play the same chords as the 4 bars of instrumental breaks in the middle and end of the song.
A hyphen between 2 chords splits the bar count in half, therefore | D - G | with 4 beats per bar means 2 beats on D and 2 beats on G... could also be written as | D / G / |.
| G A D / | means 1 beat on G, 1 beat on A, and 2 beats on D. This simile mark or repeat sign ( / ) means you repeat the previous chord in the same bar.
The song tends to start and stop and change tempo, but this is the nature of the song. John is a great Tenor, and sings the song beautifully.
Use the Transposer for any key changes.
Related Pages
Capo - Enhancing musical versatility in specific scenarios.
Guitar Chords - A comprehensive look at popular chord types featuring horizontal chord charts for right and left-handed players including barre chords and power chords.
Key Signatures - Understanding their placement, purpose, and significance in music.
Time Signature - Defines the rhythm and structure of the music helping musicians follow the appropriate beat and count the measures accurately.
