Willy McBride

Also known as "The Green Fields of France" and "No Man's Land."

6   6  6   6  7
Oh how do you do

  7   -6  -6  -5  -4
Young Wil-ly  Mc-Bride

7   7   -7  -7 7 -8   8
Do you mind if I sit here 

 -8  7   -5   -6    6
Down by your grave-side

 6   6    6  6   7
And rest for a while 

7   7   -6   -6 -5  -4
In the warm sum-mer sun

 7    7    -7  -7   7  -8
I've been walk-ing all day

 8  -8    7  7   7
And I'm near-ly done

 8 -9  9  9   9     8     8
And I see by your grave-stone

-8   -8  8  -9  -9   8
You were on-ly nine-teen

 -9   8    -8   -8    8   -9   8
When you joined the great fal-len  

-8  7    -8   8   -8
In nine-teen six-teen

 9   9  9    9   9    -9
Well I hope you died quick

 8 -8  -8  -8   7    -6
And I hope you died clean

7   7  7  -8  -8
Or Wil-ly Mc-Bride

 8  -9 8   -8   7  7    7
Was is it slow and ob-scene


 7   7    -8  -8   -8    -8  8
Did they beat the drums slow-ly

-9  -9    -9  -9   -9   8 -8  7
Did they play the fife  low- ly

 7   7    -8   -8   -8    -8
Did they sound the death march

-8  8   -9   9   -9   -8
As they low-ered you down

-8   8   -9   -9  -9   -9   9   -9  -9   8
Did the band play the last post and cho-rus

-8   8   -9    -9
Did the pipes play 

 -9    9  -9  -9 -9  -9   8
“The Flow-ers of the For-est”


And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined
And though you died back in 1916
To that loyal heart you're forever nineteen
Or are you a stranger without even a name 
Forever enshrined behind some old glass pane
In an old photograph torn, tattered, and stained
And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame

Did they beat the drums slowly
Did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest

The sun shining down on these green fields of France
The warm wind blows gently and the red poppies dance
The trenches have vanished long under the plow
No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now
But here in this graveyard that's still no mans land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation were butchered and damned

Did they beat the drums slowly
Did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest

And I can't help but wonder oh Willy McBride
Do all those who lie here know why they died
Did you really believe them when they told you the cause
Did you really believe that this war would end wars
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
The killing and dying it was all done in vain
Oh Willy McBride it all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again

Did they beat the drums slowly
Did they play the fife lowly
Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
Did the band play the last post and chorus
Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest