From Clare To Here Lyrics Guitar Chords And Sheet music
From Clare to here song lyrics and easy guitar chords with beginner piano notes now included plus the guitar tab. The sheet music notes suit the piano. The song was written by singer / songwriter by Ralph McTell, made famous by The Furey Brothers And Davie Arthur. It tells the story of Irish lads working on the building sites in England and dreaming of being back home in County Clare. It also deals with what most Irish men do when working away from home , and that's drinking and fighting and having the craic, sure what else would a fella be doing. I have also included the easy to follow letter notes plus a youtube video to give the gist of how the song goes. The Fureys play the song in Bm. A PDF file of the piano sheet music is included for downloading.
From Clare To Here Song Lyrics And Chords In The Key Of G Major
Oh [G]here's four who share this [D]room as we [G]work hard for the [D]craic
And [G]getting up late on [D]Sundays I [G]never get to [D]Mass
It's a [Am]long way from Clare to [G]here
It's a [Am]long way from Clare to [Em]here
Oh[G]It's a long, long [D]way, it grows [G]further by the [D]day
It's a [Am]long way from Clare to [G]here
When Friday comes around he's only into fighting
My ma would like a letter home but I'm too tired for writing
Chorus
It almost breaks my heart when I think of Josephine
I promised her I'd be coming home with my pockets full of green
Chorus
And the only time I feel alright is when I'm into drinking
It eases off the pain of it and levels out my thinking
Chorus
I dream I hear a piper playing or maybe it's a notion
I dream I see white horses dance upon that other ocean
Chorus
It's a long, long way from Clare to here.
Oh [G]here's four who share this [D]room as we [G]work hard for the [D]craic
And [G]getting up late on [D]Sundays I [G]never get to [D]Mass
It's a [Am]long way from Clare to [G]here
It's a [Am]long way from Clare to [Em]here
Oh[G]It's a long, long [D]way, it grows [G]further by the [D]day
It's a [Am]long way from Clare to [G]here
When Friday comes around he's only into fighting
My ma would like a letter home but I'm too tired for writing
Chorus
It almost breaks my heart when I think of Josephine
I promised her I'd be coming home with my pockets full of green
Chorus
And the only time I feel alright is when I'm into drinking
It eases off the pain of it and levels out my thinking
Chorus
I dream I hear a piper playing or maybe it's a notion
I dream I see white horses dance upon that other ocean
Chorus
It's a long, long way from Clare to here.
Ralph McTell songwriter of From Clare To Here
From Clare To Here Lyrics
From Clare to here guitar tab in D Major
From Clare To Here Sheet Music In D
| from-clare-to-here-piano-sheet-music.pdf |
From Clare To Here Here tin whistle letter notes. I
f you're playing these notes on another instrument
then remember tat all the f notes are sharp.
e f g g g g f e e d d d e BA
Oh there's 4 who share the room and we work hard for the craic
d g g g g g f e d d d d e BA
And getting up late on Sunday never getting to mass
B G A A B A G E F G
It's a long long way from Clare to here
B G A A B A G B d eded
It's a long long way from Clare to here
ef g g g g f e d d d e BA
Oh,, it's a long long way gets futher day by day
B G A A B A G E F G
It's a long long way from Clare to here
f you're playing these notes on another instrument
then remember tat all the f notes are sharp.
e f g g g g f e e d d d e BA
Oh there's 4 who share the room and we work hard for the craic
d g g g g g f e d d d d e BA
And getting up late on Sunday never getting to mass
B G A A B A G E F G
It's a long long way from Clare to here
B G A A B A G B d eded
It's a long long way from Clare to here
ef g g g g f e d d d e BA
Oh,, it's a long long way gets futher day by day
B G A A B A G E F G
It's a long long way from Clare to here
Ah now, this one hits like homesickness soaked in stout. It’s the anthem of every Irish lad who swapped the fields of Clare for the factory floors of England, with nothing for comfort but pints, cursing, and nostalgia.
We start with:
“There’s four who share this room…”
Meaning:
It’s cheaper to share a bedroom than to pay rent — and cheaper still to drink instead of having personal space.
They’re “working hard for the craic” --
which is Irish for backbreaking labour rewarded with jokes and hangovers.
He’s missing Mass on Sundays:
not because he’s gone godless --
but because he’s knackered.
Then the refrain:
“It’s a long way from Clare to here.”
And with each day --
that distance grows.
Not physically --
but emotionally.
Ireland gets farther away
with each pint, each paycheck, each lonely sunrise.
Then comes Friday --
the great Irish cultural moment:
for most it’s pints and music.
But not here.
“When Friday comes around Terry’s only into fighting.”
There’s always one lad
who gets drunk
and decides he’s Rocky Balboa
with a grudge.
Mam wants a letter --
but he's “too tired for writing.”
It’s not laziness --
it’s exhaustion mixed with shame mixed with displacement.
Then we hit the heartbreak:
“It almost breaks my heart when I think of Josephine.”
He promised her he’d come home
“with my pockets full of green.”
Meaning:
He left as a hero --
but feels like he’s becoming a disappointment.
The empty wallet weighs more than the toolbox.
Then honesty comes out with the drink:
“The only time I feel alright is when I’m into drinking
… it levels out my thinking.”
Ah yes --
alcohol:
the Irish antidepressant, philosopher, and therapist.
Not healthy --
but human.
Then the dreamlike ending:
“I sometimes hear a fiddle play
and dream I see white horses dance upon that other ocean.”
That’s the tug of home --
the mental migration --
where your heart floats back across the Irish Sea
even while your body stays shivering in Birmingham or London.
He hears imaginary fiddles --
not music in the pub --
but the memory of Ireland:
In short:
This song is:
“I left to find a better life…
but all I found was distance from the one I already had.”
We start with:
“There’s four who share this room…”
Meaning:
It’s cheaper to share a bedroom than to pay rent — and cheaper still to drink instead of having personal space.
They’re “working hard for the craic” --
which is Irish for backbreaking labour rewarded with jokes and hangovers.
He’s missing Mass on Sundays:
not because he’s gone godless --
but because he’s knackered.
Then the refrain:
“It’s a long way from Clare to here.”
And with each day --
that distance grows.
Not physically --
but emotionally.
Ireland gets farther away
with each pint, each paycheck, each lonely sunrise.
Then comes Friday --
the great Irish cultural moment:
for most it’s pints and music.
But not here.
“When Friday comes around Terry’s only into fighting.”
There’s always one lad
who gets drunk
and decides he’s Rocky Balboa
with a grudge.
Mam wants a letter --
but he's “too tired for writing.”
It’s not laziness --
it’s exhaustion mixed with shame mixed with displacement.
Then we hit the heartbreak:
“It almost breaks my heart when I think of Josephine.”
He promised her he’d come home
“with my pockets full of green.”
Meaning:
He left as a hero --
but feels like he’s becoming a disappointment.
The empty wallet weighs more than the toolbox.
Then honesty comes out with the drink:
“The only time I feel alright is when I’m into drinking
… it levels out my thinking.”
Ah yes --
alcohol:
the Irish antidepressant, philosopher, and therapist.
Not healthy --
but human.
Then the dreamlike ending:
“I sometimes hear a fiddle play
and dream I see white horses dance upon that other ocean.”
That’s the tug of home --
the mental migration --
where your heart floats back across the Irish Sea
even while your body stays shivering in Birmingham or London.
He hears imaginary fiddles --
not music in the pub --
but the memory of Ireland:
- céilí tunes
- soft winds
- and horses by the Atlantic
In short:
This song is:
- loneliness wrapped in longing
- homesickness marinated in Guinness
- a man caught between two countries
- with only memories to remind him who he is
“I left to find a better life…
but all I found was distance from the one I already had.”
