My Darling Kathleen Lyrics And Guitar Chords by Mike Denver

To play along with Mike Denver and band use the chords I have given in the key of C Major. This country song was also recorded by Finbar Dennehy and Owen Mac. Link to the sheet music included. Written by Michael Togher. I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen Song is another song that Finbar Furey also sang. The sheet music is available below.

The Song Lyrics

In An Old Country Hall Down An Old Country Lane,
That's Where I First Met Her And My Memories Remain,
As She Waltzed Round The Floor In Her Blue Satin Dress,
My Poor Heart Beat Faster With Her Every Step,

An Angel From Heaven A Star From Above,
But How Could I Tell Her I Was So Much In Love,
So I Asked Her To Dance On That Saturday Night,
And That Was The Start Of The Rest of Our Lives,

And The Crystal Ball Flickered Upon Her Sweet Face,
And The Girl That I Longed For Was In My Embrace,
Oh Please Please Dont Wake Me From This Beautiful Dream,
In Your Arms I'm In Heaven My Darling Kathleen,

In An Old Country Church Down An Old Country Lane,
Our Families and Friends Gathered That Day,
I Have Nothing To Offer But This Small Band Of Gold,
And My Love Forever To Have And To Hold,

repeat chorus
But Today Our Friends Gathered In That Old Church Once More,
To Say Their Goodbye's To The Girl I Adore,
And If God Is To Grant Me Just One Dying Dream,
I'll Waltz Around Heaven With My Darling Kathleen

Mike Denver Version Of The Guitar Chords

Intro. chords [C] [F] [C] [F] [C] [G] [C]
[C]In An Old Country Hall Down An [F]Old Country [C]Lane,
That's [F]Where I First [C]Met Her And My Memories Re[G]main,
As She [C]Waltzed Round The Floor In Her [F]Blue Satin [C]Dress,
My [F]Poor Heart Beat [C]Faster With [G]Her Every [C]Step,

[C]An Angel From Heaven A [F]Star From A[C]bove,
But [F]How Could I [C]Tell Her I Was So Much In [G]Love,
So I [C]Asked Her To Dance On That [F]Saturday [C]Night,
And [F]That Was The [C]Start Of The [G]Rest of Our [C]Lives,

[Chorus]
And The [G]Crystal Ball Flickered U[F]pon Her Sweet [C]Face,
And The [G]Girl That I Longed For Was [F]In My Em[C]brace,
Oh [C]Please Please Dont Wake Me From This [F]Beautiful [C]Dream,
In Your [F]Arms I'm In [C]Heaven My [G]Darling Kath[C]leen,

In [C]An Old Country Church Down An [F]Old Country [C]Lane,
Our [F]Families and [C]Friends Gathered That [G]Day,
I Have [C]Nothing To Offer But This [F]Small Band Of [C]Gold,
And [F]My Love For[C]ever To [G]Have And To [C]Hold,

repeat chorus
But [C]Today Our Friends Gathered In That [F]Old Church Once [C]More,
To [F]Say Their Good[C]bye's To The Girl I A[G]dore,
And If [C]God Is To Grant Me Just [F]One Dying [C]Dream,
I'll [F]Waltz Around [C]Heaven With My [G]Darling Kath[C]leen,

Here's the chords in the key of G Major
[ remember, Mike sings this in C. ]

[G]In An Old Country Hall Down An [C]Old Country [G]Lane,
That's [C]Where I First [G]Met Her And My Memories Re[D]main,
As She [G]Waltzed Round The Floor In Her [C]Blue Satin [G]Dress,
My [C]Poor Heart Beat [G]Faster With [D]Her Every [G]Step,

[G]An Angel From Heaven A [C]Star From A[G]bove,
But [C]How Could I [G]Tell Her I Was So Much In [D]Love,
So I [G]Asked Her To Dance On That [C]Saturday [G]Night,
And [C]That Was The [G]Start Of The [D]Rest of Our [G]Lives,

[Ghorus]
And The [D]Crystal Ball Flickered U[C]pon Her Sweet [G]Face,
And The [D]Girl That I Longed For Was [C]In My Em[G]brace,
Oh [G]Please Please Dont Wake Me From This [C]Beautiful [G]Dream,
In Your [C]Arms I'm In [G]Heaven My [D]Darling Kath[G]leen,

In [G]An Old Country Church Down An [C]Old Country [G]Lane,
Our [C]Families and [G]Friends Gathered That [D]Day,
I Have [G]Nothing To Offer But This [C]Small Band Of [G]Gold,
And [C]My Love For[G]ever To [D]Have And To [G]Hold,

repeat chorus
But [G]Today Our Friends Gathered In That [C]Old Church Once [G]More,
To [C]Say Their Good[G]bye's To The Girl I A[D]dore,
And If [G]God Is To Grant Me Just [C]One Dying [G]Dream,
I'll [C]Waltz Around [G]Heaven With My [D]Darling Kath[G]leen,

Below is the list of sheet music and tin whistle songs that are in my ebooks. This is the largest collection of tin whistle songs ever put together.[over 1,000 songs ] Including folk, pop and trad tunes plus German And French songs along with Christmas Carols.
All of the sheet music tabs have been made as easy to play as was possible.
The price of the ebooks is €7.50 . My darling Kathleen sheet music and tin whistle notes are included.

🎶 “My Darling Kathleen” — Guitar Arrangement

Key: D Major
Time Signature: 3/4 (Waltz feel)
Tempo: ♩ = 148 (slow waltz)
Tuning: Standard (EADGBE)

🎸 1️⃣ STRUMMING PATTERN — Gentle Waltz Flow

Use a soft “oom-cha-cha” pattern:

Pattern:
Bass – Down – Down
Count: 1 2 3

Play root or bass note on beat 1.

Strum softly on beats 2 and 3.

Use your thumb or light pick.

For verses, keep it quiet and rolling; open up during the refrain (“In your arms…”).

Example (D chord):

e|--2---------2---2---|
B|--3---------3---3---|
G|--2---------2---2---|
D|--0---------0---0---|
A|---------------------|
E|---------------------|
1 2 3
(Bass) Down Down

🎵 2️⃣ CHORDS USED
Chord Fingering Notes
D xx0232 tonic
D/F# 2x0232 bass lift
D9 xx0210 color tone
Dsus2 xx0230 suspended
Dsus4 xx0233
A x02220 dominant
A7 x02020 softer
A6 x02222 gentle intro
A9 x02423
Asus4 x02230
Bm x24432 relative minor
F#5 2x44xx power passing
G 320003
Gmaj7 320002
G/B x20003
F#m 244222
Em 022000
🎼 3️⃣ CHORD OUTLINE (aligned with your ABC)
Line Lyrics Chords
1 In an old country hall down an old country lane D – Asus4/E – D/F# – G
2 That’s where I first met her and my mem’ries remain D – F#5 – D – A7
3 As she waltzed round the floor in her blue satin dress D9 – G – D
4 My poor heart beats faster with her every step G – D – Asus4 – D
5 And the crystal ball flickered up on her sweet face D – A7 – A – D
6 And the girl that I longed for was in my embrace D – D9 – G
7 Oh please, please don’t wake me from this beautiful dream G – A – Bm – A – D
8 In your arms I’m in Heaven, my darling Kathleen A9 – D – D9
🎸 4️⃣ FINGERPICKING PATTERN — Slow Waltz Arpeggio

Pattern (one measure): P – i – m – a – m – i
Count: 1 2 3

Thumb (P) = bass (E, A, or D string)

i, m, a = G, B, and high E strings

Let strings ring together for warmth.

Example (D chord):

D
e|---------2-----------2---|
B|-------3---3-------3---3-|
G|-----2-------2---2-------|
D|---0----------------------|
A|--------------------------|
E|--------------------------|
P i m a m i

Example (A chord):

A
e|---------0-----------0---|
B|-------2---2-------2---2-|
G|-----2-------2---2-------|
D|---2----------------------|
A|-0------------------------|
E|--------------------------|

🎵 5️⃣ FINGERPICKING TAB — Intro & First Lines

“In an old country hall down an old country lane…”

D Asus4/E D/F# G
e|---------2-----------2---|---------0-----------0---|---------2-----------2---|---------3-----------3---|
B|-------3---3-------3---3-|-------3---3-------3---3-|-------3---3-------3---3-|-------0---0-------0---0-|
G|-----2-------2---2-------|-----2-------2---2-------|-----2-------2---2-------|-----0-------0---0-------|
D|---0----------------------|---2---------------------|---0---------------------|---0---------------------|
A|--------------------------|-------------------------|-0-----------------------|-2-----------------------|
E|--------------------------|-------------------------|2------------------------|3------------------------|
In an old country hall down an old country lane...

🎵 6️⃣ CHORUS TAB (“In your arms I’m in Heaven, my darling Kathleen”)
A9 D D9
e|---------0-----------0---|---------2-----------2---|---------0-----------0---|
B|-------2---2-------2---2-|-------3---3-------3---3-|-------1---1-------1---1-|
G|-----0-------0---0-------|-----2-------2---2-------|-----0-------0---0-------|
D|---2----------------------|---0---------------------|---0---------------------|
A|-0------------------------|-------------------------|-0-----------------------|
E|--------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
In your arms I’m in Heaven, my darling Kathleen...

🎧 7️⃣ PLAYING TIPS

Keep a gentle lilt in 3/4 — think of a slow dance at an old Irish wedding.

Use fingerpicking for verses and light strumming on the refrain.

Add hammer-ons occasionally on D → Dsus4 for texture.

Let open strings ring for that shimmering D-major resonance.

The final D9 → D cadence gives a soft, tender close.

🎵 8️⃣ OUTRO (Final “Kathleen”)
A9 D D9
e|---------0-----------0---|---------2-----------2---|---------0-----------0---|
B|-------2---2-------2---2-|-------3---3-------3---3-|-------1---1-------1---1-|
G|-----0-------0---0-------|-----2-------2---2-------|-----0-------0---0-------|
D|---2----------------------|---0---------------------|---0---------------------|
A|-0------------------------|-------------------------|-0-----------------------|
E|--------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
My darling Kathleen...

Let the final D chord ring and fade naturally.

My Darling Kathleen sheet music is here