Free And Green Guitar Chords And Lyrics
Written by Carl Funk with help from David Kincaid. Carl from Seattle America wrote this song while visiting Ireland in 1980, it's a song about his hopes and vision for Ireland. Years later by pure coincidences it turned out that a Captain Taggart had served with the Irish Brigade in the American civil war and some events in the song turned out to be true. The video is of The Irish Brigade who are an American group and not to be confused with the Irish group with the same name. The chorus of the song is all about drinking whiskey, and if it's a song about Whiskey your after there's none more popular than Whiskey In The Jar Song which is really another song about fighting battles but to sell the songs they put in a couple of lines about drinking either beer or whiskey. Free and green sheet music / tin whistle notes included.
"Free and Green" is more than a drinking song; it is a tribute to the "Wild Geese"—the Irishmen who fled their homeland only to find themselves fighting and dying on foreign soil, all while nursing a dream of an Ireland that is finally "Free and Green."
Genre: Irish Folk / Rebel Song / Celtic Ballad.
"Free and Green" is more than a drinking song; it is a tribute to the "Wild Geese"—the Irishmen who fled their homeland only to find themselves fighting and dying on foreign soil, all while nursing a dream of an Ireland that is finally "Free and Green."
Genre: Irish Folk / Rebel Song / Celtic Ballad.
FREE AND GREEN 4/4 (As performed by the Irish Brigade)
Intro (twice):
D-D-Em-G
D-D-C-Am
D-D-Em-G
D-C-Am-D
Captain (G)Taggart took the (Bm)field with his (C)men as hard as (Am)steel
And we (C)drove the bloody (Am)rebels/traitors to the (D)sea-(Dsus4)-(D)
Be(G)fore the guns had (Em)stilled there were (C)many hundreds (D)killed
There’s (Em)many an Irish (Am)girl sad to(G)night
(G)When the smoke had (Bm)cleared it was (C)just as we had (Am)feared
Captain (C)Taggart lay (Am)wounded on the (D)ground-(Dsus4)-(D)
With his (G)head upon my (Em)knee, there he (C)met eterni(D)ty
I (Em)proudly closed his (Am)eyes and then I (G)cried
Chorus:
And it’s (D)whiskey in the (C)morning, (D)whiskey in the (C)night
An(Am)other Irish (Em)soldier lad has (C)fought his final (G)fight
We’ll (D)toast him ‘til we’re (C)drunk boys and (D)douse the candle(G)light
And (C)tell them, Captain (Am)Taggart he’s (D)coming home tonight
Repeat Intro once
Well we (G)took his body (Bm)home and the (C)drums and pipes did (Am)drone
And we (C)pulled a fine black (Am)casket through the (D)streets-(Dsus4)-(D)
And then (G)told his grieving (Em)wife, that he (C)loved her more than (D)life
And we (Em)gave to his young (Am)son his father’s (G)sword
Now the (G)people they all (Bm)dream of an (C)Ireland free and (Am)green
Where (C)nowhere can be (Am)heard the battle (D)cry-(Dsus4)-(D)
The (G)fighting’s gone too (Em)long, and it (C)just drags on and (D)on
And I’d (Em)like to know some (Am)peace before I (G)die
Intro (twice):
D-D-Em-G
D-D-C-Am
D-D-Em-G
D-C-Am-D
Captain (G)Taggart took the (Bm)field with his (C)men as hard as (Am)steel
And we (C)drove the bloody (Am)rebels/traitors to the (D)sea-(Dsus4)-(D)
Be(G)fore the guns had (Em)stilled there were (C)many hundreds (D)killed
There’s (Em)many an Irish (Am)girl sad to(G)night
(G)When the smoke had (Bm)cleared it was (C)just as we had (Am)feared
Captain (C)Taggart lay (Am)wounded on the (D)ground-(Dsus4)-(D)
With his (G)head upon my (Em)knee, there he (C)met eterni(D)ty
I (Em)proudly closed his (Am)eyes and then I (G)cried
Chorus:
And it’s (D)whiskey in the (C)morning, (D)whiskey in the (C)night
An(Am)other Irish (Em)soldier lad has (C)fought his final (G)fight
We’ll (D)toast him ‘til we’re (C)drunk boys and (D)douse the candle(G)light
And (C)tell them, Captain (Am)Taggart he’s (D)coming home tonight
Repeat Intro once
Well we (G)took his body (Bm)home and the (C)drums and pipes did (Am)drone
And we (C)pulled a fine black (Am)casket through the (D)streets-(Dsus4)-(D)
And then (G)told his grieving (Em)wife, that he (C)loved her more than (D)life
And we (Em)gave to his young (Am)son his father’s (G)sword
Now the (G)people they all (Bm)dream of an (C)Ireland free and (Am)green
Where (C)nowhere can be (Am)heard the battle (D)cry-(Dsus4)-(D)
The (G)fighting’s gone too (Em)long, and it (C)just drags on and (D)on
And I’d (Em)like to know some (Am)peace before I (G)die
Free and green sheet music / tin whistle notes
Origins and AuthorshipUnlike many traditional rebel songs from the 1700s, "Free and Green" was written by Carl Funk and David Kincaid in the 1990s.
- The Inspiration: Carl Funk wrote the initial lyrics after a trip to Ireland in 1980, moved by the country's long history of tragedy and the then-ongoing "Troubles."
- The Album: It was famously featured on David Kincaid’s 1998 album, The Irish Volunteer, which focused on songs of the Irish-American experience during the American Civil War.
- The "Irish Brigade": The lyrics reference "Captain Taggart," a nod to the famous Irish Brigade of the Union Army. These men often fought with the hope that the military experience they gained in America could one day be used to liberate Ireland from British rule.
- The Ultimate Sacrifice: The narrative follows the death of the Captain in battle, his burial, and the delivery of his sword to his son—a common motif in Irish folk music symbolizing the passing of the "rebel spirit" to the next generation.
- The Chorus: The refrain "Whiskey in the morning, whiskey in the night" serves as a "wake" for the fallen soldier, blending the sorrow of loss with the traditional Irish celebration of a life lived for a cause.
- After the song was written, David Kincaid discovered that there was a real Captain Samuel Taggart of the 116th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (part of the Irish Brigade).
- In a chilling parallel to the lyrics, the real Captain Taggart was killed in action at the Battle of Ream's Station in 1864, just as the song describes. This "unearthly" coincidence has made the song a modern anthem for Civil War reenactors and Irish historians alike
