The Green Fields of France
Dropkick Murphys Lyrics

Oh how do you do, young Willy McBride,
The singer greets Willy McBride and asks if he can sit by his graveside to rest.

Do you mind if I sit here down by your graveside,
The singer seeks permission from Willy McBride to rest by his graveside.

And rest for a while in the warm summer sun,
The singer wants to rest in the sun after walking all day.

I've been walking all day, and I'm nearly done.
The singer has been walking all day and is tired.

And I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen,
The singer notes that Willy was young when he died.

When you joined the great fallen in 1916,
Willy died in 1916 during the war.

Well I hope you died quick,
The singer expresses a wish that Willy's death was quick.

And I hope you died clean,
The singer expresses a wish that Willy's death was not painful.

Oh Willy McBride, was is it slow and obscene.
The singer wonders if Willy's death was long and painful.

Did they beat the drums slowly,
The singer asks if the drums were played slowly during Willy's funeral.

Did the play the fife lowly,
The singer asks if the fife was played quietly during Willy's funeral.

Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down,
The singer asks if a death march was played as they lowered Willy's body into the ground.

Did the band play the last post and chorus,
The singer asks if the band played the last post and chorus during Willy's funeral.

Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest.
The singer asks if the pipes played the flowers of the forest, a Scottish lament, during Willy's funeral.

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind,
The singer asks if Willy had a wife or sweetheart who mourned his death.

In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined,
The singer wonders if Willy's memory is preserved in the heart of a loved one.

To that loyal heart you're forever nineteen.
Willy will always be remembered as a young man to those who loved him.

Or are you a stranger without even a name,
The singer wonders if Willy is remembered as a stranger with no name.

Forever enshrined behind some old glass pane,
The singer imagines Willy's picture is enshrined behind a glass pane.

In an old photograph torn, tattered, and stained,
The singer imagines Willy's picture is old and worn.

And faded to yellow in a brown leather frame.
The singer imagines Willy's picture is yellowed and framed in brown leather.

The sun shining down on these green fields of France,
The singer describes sunny green fields where the dead are buried.

The warm wind blows gently and the red poppies dance,
The singer notices the gentle wind and dancing red poppies in the fields.

The trenches have vanished long under the plow,
The battle trenches have long been plowed over and are no longer visible.

No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing down.
There is no longer warfare in these fields, no gas, barbed wire, or gunfire.

But here in this graveyard that's still no mans land,
The graveyard is still a place of death and is considered no man's land.

The countless white crosses in mute witness stand,
The countless graves and white crosses stand as silent witnesses to the horrors of war.

To man's blind indifference to his fellow man,
The white crosses are a reminder of the consequences of human indifference to others.

And a whole generation were butchered and damned.
The singer laments the loss of an entire generation to the war.

And I can't help but wonder oh Willy McBride,
The singer wonders about Willy's thoughts and feelings during the war.

Do all those who lie here know why they died,
The singer wonders if all the war dead understood why they were fighting.

Did you really believe them when they told you the cause,
The singer wonders if Willy truly believed in the cause and reasons for war.

Did you really believe that this war would end wars.
The singer questions the notion that war will end all wars.

Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame,
The singer considers the various emotions and experiences of war.

The killing and dying it was all done in vain,
The singer feels that all the killing and dying in war was pointless.

Oh Willy McBride it all happened again,
The singer laments that war and its horrors continue to occur.

and again, and again, and again, and again.
The singer emphasizes the cyclical nature of war and its tragedies.

Did they beat the drums slowly,
The singer repeats the same question from earlier in the song.

Did the play the fife lowly,
The singer repeats the same question from earlier in the song.

Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down,
The singer repeats the same question from earlier in the song.

Did the band play the last post and chorus,
The singer repeats the same question from earlier in the song.

Did the pipes play the flowers of the forest.
The singer repeats the same question from earlier in the song.