The Boys Of Killybegs Lyrics And Guitar Chords
This Irish folk song was written by singer / songwriter Tommy Makem ,Tommy is another of Ireland's finest songwriters. Killybegs is on the North West coast of Ireland and is one of the busiest fishing town in Ireland. sheet music notes included in two keys. This fine song became part of the set list for many ballad singers around Ireland, thanks to Tommy Makem. Go back to The Clancy Brothers Songs .
The piano sheet music with chords and bass is in the ebook here .
The piano sheet music with chords and bass is in the ebook here .
[G]There are wild and [C]rocky[G] hills on the [F]coast of [C]Done[G]gal.
And the fishermen are[Em] hearty, brave and[A] free,
And the[G] big At[C]lantic[G] swell is a[F] thing they know [C]right[G] well,
As they fight to take a[D] living from the[G] sea.
Chorus
With a [G]pleasant,[C] rolling[G] sea and the[C] herring running[G] free,
And the fleet all riding[Em] gently through the[A] foam,
When the[G] boats are[C] loaded[G] down there'll be [C]singing in the[G] town,
When the boys of Killy[D]begs come rolling[G] home.
Well you've donned your rubber boots and you've got your oil-skins on,
And you check your gear to see that it's okay,
And your jumper keeps you warm for it's cold before the dawn,
And you're ready to begin another day.
Chorus
Now you're headed out to sea and the wind is running free,
And you cast your nets as rain begins to fall,
But the sun comes riding high and the clouds will soon go by,
And today you'll maybe take a bumper haul.
Chorus
When the weather's blowing rough and the work gets very tough,
And the ropes will raise the welts upon your hands,
But you'll never leave the sea for whoever you may be,
When it's in your blood it's hard to live on land.
Chorus
Well there's purple on the hills and there's green down by the shore,
And the sun has spilled his gold upon the sea,
And there's silver down below where the herring fishes go,
When we catch them there'll be gold for you and me.
Chorus
And the fishermen are[Em] hearty, brave and[A] free,
And the[G] big At[C]lantic[G] swell is a[F] thing they know [C]right[G] well,
As they fight to take a[D] living from the[G] sea.
Chorus
With a [G]pleasant,[C] rolling[G] sea and the[C] herring running[G] free,
And the fleet all riding[Em] gently through the[A] foam,
When the[G] boats are[C] loaded[G] down there'll be [C]singing in the[G] town,
When the boys of Killy[D]begs come rolling[G] home.
Well you've donned your rubber boots and you've got your oil-skins on,
And you check your gear to see that it's okay,
And your jumper keeps you warm for it's cold before the dawn,
And you're ready to begin another day.
Chorus
Now you're headed out to sea and the wind is running free,
And you cast your nets as rain begins to fall,
But the sun comes riding high and the clouds will soon go by,
And today you'll maybe take a bumper haul.
Chorus
When the weather's blowing rough and the work gets very tough,
And the ropes will raise the welts upon your hands,
But you'll never leave the sea for whoever you may be,
When it's in your blood it's hard to live on land.
Chorus
Well there's purple on the hills and there's green down by the shore,
And the sun has spilled his gold upon the sea,
And there's silver down below where the herring fishes go,
When we catch them there'll be gold for you and me.
Chorus
Full chord chart for all verses and chorus (in key of G)
Suggested strumming pattern (folk style)
Fingerpicking tab for the first verse and chorus
🎸 Key of G — Full Lyrics with Chords
Verse 1
[G]There are wild and [C]rocky [G]hills on the [C]coast of Done[G]gal,
And the fishermen are [Em]hearty, brave and [A7]free,
And the [G]big At[C]lantic [G]swell is a [C]thing they know right [G]well,
As they fight to take a [D]living from the [G]sea.
Chorus
With a [G]pleasant, [C]rolling [G]sea and the [C]herring running [G]free,
And the fleet all riding [Em]gently through the [A7]foam,
When the [G]boats are [C]loaded [G]down there’ll be [C]singing in the [G]town,
When the boys of Killy[D]begs come rolling [G]home.
Verse 2
[G]Well you've donned your [C]rubber [G]boots and you've [C]got your oil-skins [G]on,
And you check your gear to [Em]see that it's o[A7]kay,
And your [G]jumper [C]keeps you [G]warm for it's [C]cold before the [G]dawn,
And you're ready to be[D]gin another [G]day.
Verse 3
[G]Now you're headed [C]out to [G]sea and the [C]wind is running [G]free,
And you cast your nets as [Em]rain begins to [A7]fall,
But the [G]sun comes [C]riding [G]high and the [C]clouds will soon go [G]by,
And to[D]day you'll maybe [D7]take a bumper [G]haul.
Verse 4
[G]When the weather's [C]blowing [G]rough and the [C]work gets very [G]tough,
And the ropes will raise the [Em]welts upon your [A7]hands,
But you'll [G]never [C]leave the [G]sea for who[C]ever you may [G]be,
When it's [D]in your blood it's [D7]hard to live on [G]land.
Verse 5
[G]Well there's purple [C]on the [G]hills and there's [C]green down by the [G]shore,
And the sun has spilled his [Em]gold upon the [A7]sea,
And there's [G]silver [C]down be[G]low where the [C]herring fishes [G]go,
When we [D]catch them there'll be [D7]gold for you and [G]me.
🎵 Folk Strumming Pattern (4/4)
A classic, steady Donegal rhythm:
Pattern:
↓ ↓ ↑ ↑ ↓ ↑
(Count: 1 2-and &-4-and)
Emphasize the first downstroke on each bar.
Works well at ~90–100 bpm for a rolling, maritime sway.
You can also alternate bass notes on beats 1 and 3:
Play root on beat 1, fifth on beat 3 (like G → D, C → G, etc.).
🎶 Fingerpicking Tab (Verse 1 & Chorus)
Here’s a simple Travis-picking pattern for the intro / first verse and chorus.
Alternating bass with melody-style fingerpicking in G Major.
Fingerpicking pattern (per bar):
Thumb = alternating bass (E–D or A–G strings)
Index = G string
Middle = B string
Ring = high E string
🎸 Verse 1 Fingerpicking
[G]
e|-------3---------3-|-------3---------3-|
B|-----0---0-----0---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-------------------|-------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------------|
E|-3-------2---------|-3-------2---------|
[C]
e|-------0---------0-|-------0---------0-|
B|-----1---1-----1---|-----1---1-----1---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-2-------2---------|-2-------2---------|
A|3-------------------|3------------------|
E|--------------------|------------------|
[G] (back to G for “Donegal”)
e|-------3---------3-|-------3---------3-|
B|-----0---0-----0---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-------------------|-------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------------|
E|-3-------2---------|-3-------2---------|
🎵 Chorus Fingerpicking
[G]
e|-------3---------3-|-------3---------3-|
B|-----0---0-----0---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-------------------|-------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------------|
E|-3-------2---------|-3-------2---------|
[C]
e|-------0---------0-|-------0---------0-|
B|-----1---1-----1---|-----1---1-----1---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-2-------2---------|-2-------2---------|
A|3-------------------|3------------------|
E|--------------------|------------------|
[Em]
e|-------0---------0-|-------0---------0-|
B|-----0---0-----0---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|2-------2-----------|2-------2----------|
A|--------------------|-------------------|
E|--------------------|-------------------|
[A7]
e|-------0---------0-|-------0---------0-|
B|-----2---2-----2---|-----2---2-----2---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-2-------2---------|-2-------2---------|
A|0-------------------|0------------------|
E|--------------------|------------------|
[D] → [G] cadence
e|-------2---------2-|-------3---------3-|
B|-----3---3-----3---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---2-------2-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-0-------0---------|-------------------|
A|--------------------|------------------|
E|--------------------|-3----------------|
Suggested strumming pattern (folk style)
Fingerpicking tab for the first verse and chorus
🎸 Key of G — Full Lyrics with Chords
Verse 1
[G]There are wild and [C]rocky [G]hills on the [C]coast of Done[G]gal,
And the fishermen are [Em]hearty, brave and [A7]free,
And the [G]big At[C]lantic [G]swell is a [C]thing they know right [G]well,
As they fight to take a [D]living from the [G]sea.
Chorus
With a [G]pleasant, [C]rolling [G]sea and the [C]herring running [G]free,
And the fleet all riding [Em]gently through the [A7]foam,
When the [G]boats are [C]loaded [G]down there’ll be [C]singing in the [G]town,
When the boys of Killy[D]begs come rolling [G]home.
Verse 2
[G]Well you've donned your [C]rubber [G]boots and you've [C]got your oil-skins [G]on,
And you check your gear to [Em]see that it's o[A7]kay,
And your [G]jumper [C]keeps you [G]warm for it's [C]cold before the [G]dawn,
And you're ready to be[D]gin another [G]day.
Verse 3
[G]Now you're headed [C]out to [G]sea and the [C]wind is running [G]free,
And you cast your nets as [Em]rain begins to [A7]fall,
But the [G]sun comes [C]riding [G]high and the [C]clouds will soon go [G]by,
And to[D]day you'll maybe [D7]take a bumper [G]haul.
Verse 4
[G]When the weather's [C]blowing [G]rough and the [C]work gets very [G]tough,
And the ropes will raise the [Em]welts upon your [A7]hands,
But you'll [G]never [C]leave the [G]sea for who[C]ever you may [G]be,
When it's [D]in your blood it's [D7]hard to live on [G]land.
Verse 5
[G]Well there's purple [C]on the [G]hills and there's [C]green down by the [G]shore,
And the sun has spilled his [Em]gold upon the [A7]sea,
And there's [G]silver [C]down be[G]low where the [C]herring fishes [G]go,
When we [D]catch them there'll be [D7]gold for you and [G]me.
🎵 Folk Strumming Pattern (4/4)
A classic, steady Donegal rhythm:
Pattern:
↓ ↓ ↑ ↑ ↓ ↑
(Count: 1 2-and &-4-and)
Emphasize the first downstroke on each bar.
Works well at ~90–100 bpm for a rolling, maritime sway.
You can also alternate bass notes on beats 1 and 3:
Play root on beat 1, fifth on beat 3 (like G → D, C → G, etc.).
🎶 Fingerpicking Tab (Verse 1 & Chorus)
Here’s a simple Travis-picking pattern for the intro / first verse and chorus.
Alternating bass with melody-style fingerpicking in G Major.
Fingerpicking pattern (per bar):
Thumb = alternating bass (E–D or A–G strings)
Index = G string
Middle = B string
Ring = high E string
🎸 Verse 1 Fingerpicking
[G]
e|-------3---------3-|-------3---------3-|
B|-----0---0-----0---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-------------------|-------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------------|
E|-3-------2---------|-3-------2---------|
[C]
e|-------0---------0-|-------0---------0-|
B|-----1---1-----1---|-----1---1-----1---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-2-------2---------|-2-------2---------|
A|3-------------------|3------------------|
E|--------------------|------------------|
[G] (back to G for “Donegal”)
e|-------3---------3-|-------3---------3-|
B|-----0---0-----0---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-------------------|-------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------------|
E|-3-------2---------|-3-------2---------|
🎵 Chorus Fingerpicking
[G]
e|-------3---------3-|-------3---------3-|
B|-----0---0-----0---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-------------------|-------------------|
A|-------------------|-------------------|
E|-3-------2---------|-3-------2---------|
[C]
e|-------0---------0-|-------0---------0-|
B|-----1---1-----1---|-----1---1-----1---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-2-------2---------|-2-------2---------|
A|3-------------------|3------------------|
E|--------------------|------------------|
[Em]
e|-------0---------0-|-------0---------0-|
B|-----0---0-----0---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|2-------2-----------|2-------2----------|
A|--------------------|-------------------|
E|--------------------|-------------------|
[A7]
e|-------0---------0-|-------0---------0-|
B|-----2---2-----2---|-----2---2-----2---|
G|---0-------0-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-2-------2---------|-2-------2---------|
A|0-------------------|0------------------|
E|--------------------|------------------|
[D] → [G] cadence
e|-------2---------2-|-------3---------3-|
B|-----3---3-----3---|-----0---0-----0---|
G|---2-------2-------|---0-------0-------|
D|-0-------0---------|-------------------|
A|--------------------|------------------|
E|--------------------|-3----------------|
The Boys Of Killybegs Sheet Music
Boys Of Killybegs Fishing Trawler
