Neil Goe's Farewell To Whiskey Lyrics, Guitar Chords and sheet music
The Scottish song was written by Neil Goe about two hundred years ago. The tin whistle notes are included. . As for folk songs dealing with whiskey, there's been plenty of them, with Whiskey In The Jar Song being at the top spot . Guitar tab included for fingerpicking .
[D]You've surely heard o' [Em]famous Neil,
The[D] man that [A]played the [D]fiddle weel,
I [G]wat he [D]was a [A7]canty chiel',
And [D]dearly lo'[A]ed the [D]whiskey, O!
And ay sin' he wore [A7]tartan trews,
He [D]dearly lo'ed the Athole brose;
And[G] wae was [D]he you [A7]may suppose,
To [D]play fare[A]weel to [D]whiskey, O.
Alake, quoth Neil, I'm frail and auld,
And find my bluid grows unco cauld,
I think 'twad mak me blythe and bauld,
A wee drap highland whiskey, O
Yet the doctors they do agree,
That whiskey's no the drink for me:
Saul, quoth, 'twill spoil my glee,
Should they part me and whiskey, O.
Tho' I can get baith wine and ale,
And find my head and fingers hale,
I'll be content, tho' legs should fail,
To play fareweel to whiskey, O.
But still I think on auld lang syne,
When Paradise our friends did tyne,
Because something ran in their mind
Forbid, like highland whiskey, O.
Come, a' ye powers of music, come!
I find my heart grows unco glum;
My fiddle-strings will no play bum
To say fareweel to whiskey, O.
Yet I'll tak my fiddle in my hand,
And screw the pegs up while they'll stand,
To mak a lamentation grand,
On gude auld highland whiskey, O.
The[D] man that [A]played the [D]fiddle weel,
I [G]wat he [D]was a [A7]canty chiel',
And [D]dearly lo'[A]ed the [D]whiskey, O!
And ay sin' he wore [A7]tartan trews,
He [D]dearly lo'ed the Athole brose;
And[G] wae was [D]he you [A7]may suppose,
To [D]play fare[A]weel to [D]whiskey, O.
Alake, quoth Neil, I'm frail and auld,
And find my bluid grows unco cauld,
I think 'twad mak me blythe and bauld,
A wee drap highland whiskey, O
Yet the doctors they do agree,
That whiskey's no the drink for me:
Saul, quoth, 'twill spoil my glee,
Should they part me and whiskey, O.
Tho' I can get baith wine and ale,
And find my head and fingers hale,
I'll be content, tho' legs should fail,
To play fareweel to whiskey, O.
But still I think on auld lang syne,
When Paradise our friends did tyne,
Because something ran in their mind
Forbid, like highland whiskey, O.
Come, a' ye powers of music, come!
I find my heart grows unco glum;
My fiddle-strings will no play bum
To say fareweel to whiskey, O.
Yet I'll tak my fiddle in my hand,
And screw the pegs up while they'll stand,
To mak a lamentation grand,
On gude auld highland whiskey, O.
Here's another version of the guitar chords for the key of G.
[G]You've surely heard o' [Am]famous Neil,
The[G] man that [D]played the [G]fiddle weel,
I [C]wat he [G]was a [D7]canty chiel',
And [G]dearly lo'[D]ed the [G]whiskey, O!
And ay sin' he wore [D7]tartan trews,
He [G]dearly lo'ed the Athole brose;
And[C] wae was [G]he you [D7]may suppose,
To [G]play fare[D]weel to [G]whiskey, O.
🎸 “Whiskey O” – Guitar Arrangement
Time: 3/4 Tempo: ~95 BPM
Strumming pattern: D – D U D (Down, Down-Up-Down)
🪗 Verse 1
[G]You've surely heard o' [Am]famous Neil,
The [G]man that [D]played the [G]fiddle weel,
e|--------3-----------|--------0-----------|--------3-----------|
B|------0---0---------|------1---1---------|------0---0---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|----0-------0-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--------------------|--0-----------------|--------------------|
E|--3-----------------|--------------------|--3-----------------|
I [C]wat he [G]was a [D7]canty chiel',
And [G]dearly lo'[D]ed the [G]whiskey, O!
e|--------0-----------|--------3-----------|--------2-----------|
B|------1---1---------|------0---0---------|------1---1---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--3-----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--------------------|--3-----------------|--------------------|
e|--------3-----------|--------2-----------|--------3-----------|
B|------0---0---------|------3---3---------|------0---0---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|----0-------0-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--3-----------------|--------------------|--3-----------------|
And ay sin' he wore [D7]tartan trews,
He [G]dearly lo'ed the Athole brose;
e|--------2-----------|--------3-----------|--------3-----------|
B|------1---1---------|------0---0---------|------0---0---------|
G|----2-------2-------|----0-------0-------|----0-------0-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--------------------|--3-----------------|--3-----------------|
And [C]wae was [G]he you [D7]may suppose,
To [G]play fare[D]weel to [G]whiskey, O.
e|--------0-----------|--------3-----------|--------2-----------|
B|------1---1---------|------0---0---------|------1---1---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--3-----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--------------------|--3-----------------|--------------------|
e|--------3-----------|--------2-----------|--------3-----------|
B|------0---0---------|------3---3---------|------0---0---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|----0-------0-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--3-----------------|--------------------|--3-----------------|
💡 Playing Notes
Use a light swing in 3/4, accenting beat 1 each measure.
You can alternate between fingerpicking and strumming every few lines for variation.
For a Scottish pub sound, emphasize the bass note (thumb) slightly more on beat 1.
End with a slow arpeggiated G chord for a strong finish.
[G]You've surely heard o' [Am]famous Neil,
The[G] man that [D]played the [G]fiddle weel,
I [C]wat he [G]was a [D7]canty chiel',
And [G]dearly lo'[D]ed the [G]whiskey, O!
And ay sin' he wore [D7]tartan trews,
He [G]dearly lo'ed the Athole brose;
And[C] wae was [G]he you [D7]may suppose,
To [G]play fare[D]weel to [G]whiskey, O.
🎸 “Whiskey O” – Guitar Arrangement
Time: 3/4 Tempo: ~95 BPM
Strumming pattern: D – D U D (Down, Down-Up-Down)
🪗 Verse 1
[G]You've surely heard o' [Am]famous Neil,
The [G]man that [D]played the [G]fiddle weel,
e|--------3-----------|--------0-----------|--------3-----------|
B|------0---0---------|------1---1---------|------0---0---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|----0-------0-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--------------------|--0-----------------|--------------------|
E|--3-----------------|--------------------|--3-----------------|
I [C]wat he [G]was a [D7]canty chiel',
And [G]dearly lo'[D]ed the [G]whiskey, O!
e|--------0-----------|--------3-----------|--------2-----------|
B|------1---1---------|------0---0---------|------1---1---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--3-----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--------------------|--3-----------------|--------------------|
e|--------3-----------|--------2-----------|--------3-----------|
B|------0---0---------|------3---3---------|------0---0---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|----0-------0-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--3-----------------|--------------------|--3-----------------|
And ay sin' he wore [D7]tartan trews,
He [G]dearly lo'ed the Athole brose;
e|--------2-----------|--------3-----------|--------3-----------|
B|------1---1---------|------0---0---------|------0---0---------|
G|----2-------2-------|----0-------0-------|----0-------0-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--------------------|--3-----------------|--3-----------------|
And [C]wae was [G]he you [D7]may suppose,
To [G]play fare[D]weel to [G]whiskey, O.
e|--------0-----------|--------3-----------|--------2-----------|
B|------1---1---------|------0---0---------|------1---1---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--3-----------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--------------------|--3-----------------|--------------------|
e|--------3-----------|--------2-----------|--------3-----------|
B|------0---0---------|------3---3---------|------0---0---------|
G|----0-------0-------|----2-------2-------|----0-------0-------|
D|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
A|--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
E|--3-----------------|--------------------|--3-----------------|
💡 Playing Notes
Use a light swing in 3/4, accenting beat 1 each measure.
You can alternate between fingerpicking and strumming every few lines for variation.
For a Scottish pub sound, emphasize the bass note (thumb) slightly more on beat 1.
End with a slow arpeggiated G chord for a strong finish.
