Going Home At Last lyrics and chords by The Irish Brigade
Written by Gerry O'Glacain and preformed by The Irish Brigade
This song was performed by the Irish Brigade, Pádraig Mór (Soirse & Shebeen) and possible other bands. For the Irish Brigade’s version use capo on 3rd fret.
This song was performed by the Irish Brigade, Pádraig Mór (Soirse & Shebeen) and possible other bands. For the Irish Brigade’s version use capo on 3rd fret.
Intro: C-F-F-C
Chorus:
So it’s (C)pull down the watchtowers you’re (Dm)going home at last
(F)Say farewell to Bel(C)laghy, Carrick(Dm)more and West (G)Belfast
With your (F)kit-bag on your (C)shoulder and a (Dm)tear all in your (Am)eye
Well (C)pardon me for (F)smiling while you’re (G)waving me good(C)bye
You (C)say you came to save us in the (Dm)year of sixty-nine
(F)But you stayed to stop the (C)‚orange state’ from (Dm)falling to de(G)cline
When it (F)came to Bloody (C)Sunday you showed the (Dm)world what you could (Am)do
Four(C)teen dead men on (F)Derry’s streets your true (G)colours they shone (C)through
Chorus
You (C)found you could not beat us after (Dm)thirty years of war
In (F)of all your (C)Choppers, foot-pa(Dm)trols and armoured (G)cars
We (F)never will sur(C)render or get (Dm)on our knees and (Am)beg
So go (C)crowling back to (F)England with your (G)trail between your (C)legs
Chorus
You (C)say you’re sad to leave us but (Dm)we have no regrets
You’ve (F)left behind a (C)legacy we (Dm)never will for(G)get
From (F)Dunloy to Drumna(C)killy you carved (Dm)out your bloody (Am)name
Your (C)hands are stepped in (F)Irish blood so (G)hang your heads in (C)shame
Chorus twice
Well (C)pardon me for (F)smiling while you’re (G)waving me good(C)bye
Chorus:
So it’s (C)pull down the watchtowers you’re (Dm)going home at last
(F)Say farewell to Bel(C)laghy, Carrick(Dm)more and West (G)Belfast
With your (F)kit-bag on your (C)shoulder and a (Dm)tear all in your (Am)eye
Well (C)pardon me for (F)smiling while you’re (G)waving me good(C)bye
You (C)say you came to save us in the (Dm)year of sixty-nine
(F)But you stayed to stop the (C)‚orange state’ from (Dm)falling to de(G)cline
When it (F)came to Bloody (C)Sunday you showed the (Dm)world what you could (Am)do
Four(C)teen dead men on (F)Derry’s streets your true (G)colours they shone (C)through
Chorus
You (C)found you could not beat us after (Dm)thirty years of war
In (F)of all your (C)Choppers, foot-pa(Dm)trols and armoured (G)cars
We (F)never will sur(C)render or get (Dm)on our knees and (Am)beg
So go (C)crowling back to (F)England with your (G)trail between your (C)legs
Chorus
You (C)say you’re sad to leave us but (Dm)we have no regrets
You’ve (F)left behind a (C)legacy we (Dm)never will for(G)get
From (F)Dunloy to Drumna(C)killy you carved (Dm)out your bloody (Am)name
Your (C)hands are stepped in (F)Irish blood so (G)hang your heads in (C)shame
Chorus twice
Well (C)pardon me for (F)smiling while you’re (G)waving me good(C)bye
🎵 Full chords for the whole chorus, transposed from C → G
🎸 A strumming pattern that suits the folk style
🎶 A fingerpicking tab for all chorus verses with lyrics aligned line by line
🎵 “Pull Down the Watchtowers” (in G Major)
Tuning: Standard (EADGBE)
Tempo: ~80 BPM
Time: 4/4
Key: G Major
🎶 1. Full Chorus with Chords (Transposed to G Major)
So it’s (G)pull down the watchtowers, you’re (Am)going home at last
(C)Say farewell to (G)Laghey, Carri(Am)ckmore and West (D)Belfast
With your (C)kit-bag on your (G)shoulder and a (Am)tear all in your (Em)eye
Well (G)pardon me for (C)smiling while you’re (D)waving me good(G)bye
You (G)say you came to save us in the (Am)year of sixty-nine
(C)But you stayed to stop the (G)‘orange state’ from (Am)falling to de(D)cline
When it (C)came to Bloody (G)Sunday you showed the (Am)world what you could (Em)do
Four(G)teen dead men on (C)Derry’s streets — your (D)true colours, they shone (G)through
🎸 2. Strumming Pattern
A relaxed folk strum fits this perfectly — reminiscent of classic Irish protest songs.
Pattern (per measure):
↓ ↓↑ ↑↓↑
Counting:
1 2 & & 4 &
Style notes:
Keep the strum soft and steady.
Accent slightly on beat 2 for a lilt.
On emotional lines (like “tear all in your eye”), ease off the strum — or just do one slow downstroke.
For endings (like “true colours they shone through”), end on a single ringing G chord.
🎶 3. Fingerpicking Tab (for All Chorus Verses)
This version uses a Travis-style picking pattern, alternating bass + treble notes.
Picking pattern:
Thumb (T) on bass → Index (I) on G string → Thumb (T) on D/A → Middle (M) on B string
Basic pattern:
T – I – T – M
Fingerpicking Tab (Lyrics Aligned)
G
e|----------------|----------------|
B|------0---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|----------------|----------------|
E|--3-------------|--3-------------|
So it’s pull down the watchtowers,
Am
e|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|
G|----2---2-------|----2---2-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|
A|--0-------------|--0-------------|
E|----------------|----------------|
You’re going home at last,
C G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|------0---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|
E|----------------|----------------|--3-------------|--3-------------|
Say farewell to Laghey, Carrickmore and West Belfast,
C G Am Em
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|------1---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|--0-------------|----------------|
E|----------------|----------------|----------------|--0-------------|
With your kit-bag on your shoulder and a tear all in your eye,
G C D G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------0---------|------1---------|------3---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------0-------|--------2-------|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|----------------|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|
E|--3-------------|----------------|--2-------------|--3-------------|
Well pardon me for smiling while you’re waving me goodbye,
Second Half of Chorus
G Am
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------0---------|------1---------|------1---------|------1---------|
G|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----2---2-------|----2---2-------|
D|--------0-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|
A|----------------|--0-------------|--0-------------|--0-------------|
E|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
You say you came to save us in the year of sixty-nine,
C G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|------0---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|
E|----------------|----------------|--3-------------|--3-------------|
But you stayed to stop the ‘orange state’ from falling to decline,
C G Am Em
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|------1---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|--0-------------|----------------|
E|----------------|----------------|----------------|--0-------------|
When it came to Bloody Sunday, you showed the world what you could do,
G C D G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------0---------|------1---------|------3---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------0-------|--------2-------|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|----------------|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|
E|--3-------------|----------------|--2-------------|--3-------------|
Fourteen dead men on Derry’s streets, your true colours they shone through.
🎸 A strumming pattern that suits the folk style
🎶 A fingerpicking tab for all chorus verses with lyrics aligned line by line
🎵 “Pull Down the Watchtowers” (in G Major)
Tuning: Standard (EADGBE)
Tempo: ~80 BPM
Time: 4/4
Key: G Major
🎶 1. Full Chorus with Chords (Transposed to G Major)
So it’s (G)pull down the watchtowers, you’re (Am)going home at last
(C)Say farewell to (G)Laghey, Carri(Am)ckmore and West (D)Belfast
With your (C)kit-bag on your (G)shoulder and a (Am)tear all in your (Em)eye
Well (G)pardon me for (C)smiling while you’re (D)waving me good(G)bye
You (G)say you came to save us in the (Am)year of sixty-nine
(C)But you stayed to stop the (G)‘orange state’ from (Am)falling to de(D)cline
When it (C)came to Bloody (G)Sunday you showed the (Am)world what you could (Em)do
Four(G)teen dead men on (C)Derry’s streets — your (D)true colours, they shone (G)through
🎸 2. Strumming Pattern
A relaxed folk strum fits this perfectly — reminiscent of classic Irish protest songs.
Pattern (per measure):
↓ ↓↑ ↑↓↑
Counting:
1 2 & & 4 &
Style notes:
Keep the strum soft and steady.
Accent slightly on beat 2 for a lilt.
On emotional lines (like “tear all in your eye”), ease off the strum — or just do one slow downstroke.
For endings (like “true colours they shone through”), end on a single ringing G chord.
🎶 3. Fingerpicking Tab (for All Chorus Verses)
This version uses a Travis-style picking pattern, alternating bass + treble notes.
Picking pattern:
Thumb (T) on bass → Index (I) on G string → Thumb (T) on D/A → Middle (M) on B string
Basic pattern:
T – I – T – M
Fingerpicking Tab (Lyrics Aligned)
G
e|----------------|----------------|
B|------0---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|----------------|----------------|
E|--3-------------|--3-------------|
So it’s pull down the watchtowers,
Am
e|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|
G|----2---2-------|----2---2-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|
A|--0-------------|--0-------------|
E|----------------|----------------|
You’re going home at last,
C G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|------0---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|
E|----------------|----------------|--3-------------|--3-------------|
Say farewell to Laghey, Carrickmore and West Belfast,
C G Am Em
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|------1---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|--0-------------|----------------|
E|----------------|----------------|----------------|--0-------------|
With your kit-bag on your shoulder and a tear all in your eye,
G C D G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------0---------|------1---------|------3---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------0-------|--------2-------|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|----------------|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|
E|--3-------------|----------------|--2-------------|--3-------------|
Well pardon me for smiling while you’re waving me goodbye,
Second Half of Chorus
G Am
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------0---------|------1---------|------1---------|------1---------|
G|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----2---2-------|----2---2-------|
D|--------0-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|
A|----------------|--0-------------|--0-------------|--0-------------|
E|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
You say you came to save us in the year of sixty-nine,
C G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|------0---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|
E|----------------|----------------|--3-------------|--3-------------|
But you stayed to stop the ‘orange state’ from falling to decline,
C G Am Em
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------1---------|------1---------|------1---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|--------2-------|
A|--3-------------|--3-------------|--0-------------|----------------|
E|----------------|----------------|----------------|--0-------------|
When it came to Bloody Sunday, you showed the world what you could do,
G C D G
e|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B|------0---------|------1---------|------3---------|------0---------|
G|----0---0-------|----0---0-------|----2---2-------|----0---0-------|
D|--------0-------|--------2-------|--------0-------|--------0-------|
A|----------------|--3-------------|----------------|----------------|
E|--3-------------|----------------|--2-------------|--3-------------|
Fourteen dead men on Derry’s streets, your true colours they shone through.
