The Green Fields of France (Ronan Tynan, Irish Tenor)

Ronan Tynan singing The Green Fields of France. Written By Eric Bogle. in concert in Ellis Island.

Well, how do you do, young Willie McBride,
Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside?
And rest for awhile neath the warm summer sun,
I've been walking all day, and I'm nearly done.
I see by your gravestone you our only 19
When you joined the great fallen in 1916,
I hope you died well and I hope you died clean
Or, Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?

Did they Beat the drum slowly, did the play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the 'death march' as they lowered you down?
did band play The Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

Did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some fateful heart is your memory enshrined?
And, though you died back in 1916,
in that fatal heart are you forever 19?
Or are you a stranger without even a name,
Enclosed in forever behind a glass pane,
In an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained,
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame?

Did they Beat the drum slowly, did the play the pipe lowly?
Did they sound the 'death march' as they lowered you down?
Did band play The Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

The sun now it shines on the green fields of France;
there's warm summers breeze, it makes red poppies dance.
And look how the sun comes from under the clouds;
there's No gas no barbed wire, no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard it's still No Man's Land
the countless white crosses lie mute in the sand
to man's blind indifference to his fellow man.
To a whole generation who were butchered and damned.

Did they Beat the drum slowly, did the play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the 'death march' as they lowered you down?
Did band play The Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

Young Willie McBride, I can't help wonder why,
Do all those who lie here why they died?
Did you really believe when they told you "The Cause?"
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the sorrow, the suffering the glory, the pain
The killing, and dying, was all done in vain,
For Willie McBride, it all happened again,
again, and again, and again, and again.

Did they Beat the drum slowly, did the play the fife lowly?
Did they sound the 'death march' as they lowered you down?
Did band play The Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

Submited by

Saturday, May 21, 2011 - 16:41

Videos :

AjAraujo

AjAraujo's picture
Offline
Title: Membro
Last seen: 7 years 8 weeks ago
Joined: 10/29/2009
Posts:
Points: 15584

Add comment

Login to post comments

other contents of AjAraujo

Topic Title Replies Views Last Postsort icon Language
Poesia/Intervention A uma mendiga ruiva (Charles Baudelaire) 0 13.836 07/03/2014 - 02:55 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Coração avariado 1 6.199 06/25/2014 - 03:09 Portuguese
Poesia/Fantasy Flores bonecas 2 4.292 06/24/2014 - 20:14 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Caminho de San Tiago 0 5.837 06/24/2014 - 00:31 Portuguese
Poesia/Sonnet Há em toda a beleza uma amargura (Walter Benjamin) 1 5.646 06/20/2014 - 21:04 Portuguese
Poesia/Sonnet Vibra o passado em tudo o que palpita (Walter Benjamin) 1 6.116 06/19/2014 - 23:27 Portuguese
Poesia/Meditation Sonhe (Clarice Lispector) 1 9.021 06/19/2014 - 23:00 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Dá-me a tua mão (Clarice Lispector) 0 7.832 06/19/2014 - 22:44 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Precisão (Clarice Lispector) 0 9.237 06/19/2014 - 22:35 Portuguese
Poesia/Meditation Pão dormido, choro contido 1 4.797 06/13/2014 - 04:02 Portuguese
Poesia/Fantasy A dívida 1 4.909 06/12/2014 - 04:52 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Eco das Ruas 1 3.668 06/12/2014 - 04:38 Portuguese
Poesia/Aphorism Maneiras de lutar (Rubén Vela) 2 6.344 06/11/2014 - 11:22 Portuguese
Poesia/Aphorism O médico cubano, o charuto e o arroto tupiniquim (cordel) 2 7.848 06/11/2014 - 11:19 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Espera... (Florbela Espanca) 0 3.455 03/06/2014 - 11:42 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Interrogação (Florbela Espanca) 0 7.054 03/06/2014 - 11:36 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Alma a sangrar (Florbela Espanca) 0 5.067 03/06/2014 - 11:32 Portuguese
Poesia/Sonnet Vê minha vida à luz da proteção (Walter Benjamin) 0 4.569 03/03/2014 - 13:16 Portuguese
Poesia/Dedicated Arte poética (Juan Gelman) 0 5.659 01/17/2014 - 23:32 Portuguese
Poesia/Dedicated A palavra em armas (Rubén Vela) 0 3.664 01/17/2014 - 23:01 Portuguese
Poesia/Fantasy A ÁRVORE DE NATAL NA CASA DE CRISTO (FIODOR DOSTOIÉVSKI) 0 3.623 12/20/2013 - 12:00 Portuguese
Poesia/Dedicated Aqueles olhos sábios 0 6.121 10/27/2013 - 21:47 Portuguese
Poesia/Thoughts Asteróides 0 5.062 10/27/2013 - 21:46 Portuguese
Poesia/Thoughts O que se re-funda não se finda 0 5.586 10/27/2013 - 21:44 Portuguese
Poesia/Intervention Para mim mesmo ergui…(Aleksander Pushkin) 0 4.385 10/16/2013 - 00:14 Portuguese