Four Green Fields: Difference between revisions
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{{About|the folk-song|the stained glass art work|My Four Green Fields}} |
{{About|the folk-song|the stained glass art work|My Four Green Fields}} |
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{{Short description|1967 Irish folk song by Tommy Makem}} |
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'''''Four Green Fields''''' is a 1967 [[folk song]] by [[Ireland|Irish]] musician [[Tommy Makem]], described in |
'''''Four Green Fields''''' is a 1967 [[folk song]] by [[Ireland|Irish]] musician [[Tommy Makem]], described in ''[[The New York Times]]'' as a "hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad."<ref>[http://www.makem.com/tommy/tmpress.html Tommy Makem press coverage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050408030832/http://www.makem.com/tommy/tmpress.html |date=2005-04-08 }}</ref> Of Makem's many compositions, it has become the most familiar, and is part of the common repertoire of Irish folk musicians.<ref>[http://www.makem.com/tommy/ Makem.com - Bio]</ref> |
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==Content and meaning== |
==Content and meaning== |
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The song |
The song is about Ireland (personified as an “old woman”) and its four provinces (represented by “green fields”), one of which remains occupied (“taken”) by the British (the “strangers”) despite the best efforts of the Irish people (her “sons”), who died trying to defend them. Its middle stanza is a description of the violence and deprivation experienced by the Irish, including the people in Northern Ireland. At the end of the song, one of her fields still shows the promise of new growth: |
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:"But my sons have sons, as brave as were their fathers; |
:"But my sons have sons, as brave as were their fathers; |
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:My fourth green field will bloom once again," said she. |
:My fourth green field will bloom once again," said she. |
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The song is interpreted as |
The song is interpreted as an [[allegory|allegorical]] political statement regarding the constitutional status of [[Northern Ireland]]. The four fields are seen as the [[Provinces of Ireland]] with [[Ulster]] being the "field" that remained part of the [[United Kingdom]] after the [[Irish Free State]] separated. The old woman is seen as a traditional personification of Ireland herself (see [[Kathleen Ni Houlihan]]). The words spoken by the woman in Makem's song are taken directly from "Cathleen ni Houlihan", an early play by W. B. Yeats. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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The concept of Four Green Fields representing the four provinces of Ireland had been used before, having been previously used in the 1939 stained glass work [[My Four Green Fields]] by [[Evie Hone]]. |
The concept of Four Green Fields representing the four provinces of Ireland had been used before, having been previously used in the 1939 stained glass work [[My Four Green Fields]] by [[Evie Hone]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Digital|first=Granite|title=Home|url=https://www.thehighkings.com/|access-date=2021-08-03|website=www.thehighkings.com}}</ref> |
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Makem frequently described the song as having been inspired by a drive through the "no man's land" adjoining Northern Ireland, where he saw an old woman tending livestock. She was oblivious to the political boundaries that loomed so large in the public's eye; the land was older than the argument, and she didn't care what was shown on the map. |
Makem frequently described the song as having been inspired by a drive through the "no man's land" adjoining Northern Ireland, where he saw an old woman tending livestock. She was oblivious to the political boundaries that loomed so large in the public's eye; the land was older than the argument, and she didn't care what was shown on the map. |
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Makem commonly sang the song as an encore. |
Makem commonly sang the song as an encore. |
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== |
==See also== |
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* [[Kathleen Ni Houlihan]] |
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What did I have, said the fine old woman<br /> |
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* [[Mise Éire]] |
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What did I have, this proud old woman did say<br /> |
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* [[Róisín Dubh (song)]] |
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I had four green fields, each one was a jewel<br /> |
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* [[The Sean-Bhean bhocht]] |
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But strangers came and tried to take them from me<br /> |
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* [[Hibernia (personification)]] |
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I had fine strong sons, who fought to save my jewels<br /> |
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They fought and they died, and that was my grief said she<br /> |
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Long time ago, said the fine old woman<br /> |
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Long time ago, this proud old woman did say<br /> |
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There was war and death, plundering and pillage<br /> |
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My children starved, by mountain, valley and sea<br /> |
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And their wailing cries, they shook the very heavens<br /> |
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My four green fields ran red with their blood, said she<br /> |
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What have I now, said the fine old woman<br /> |
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What have I now, this proud old woman did say<br /> |
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I have four green fields, one of them's in bondage<br /> |
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In stranger's hands, that tried to take it from me<br /> |
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But my sons had sons, as brave as were their fathers<br /> |
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My fourth green field will bloom once again said she<br /> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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{{National personifications}} |
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{{authority control}} |
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[[Category:1967 songs]] |
[[Category:1967 songs]] |
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[[Category:Irish folk songs]] |
[[Category:Irish folk songs]] |
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[[Category:Personifications of Ireland]] |
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[[Category:National personifications]] |
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Latest revision as of 00:36, 15 August 2024
Four Green Fields is a 1967 folk song by Irish musician Tommy Makem, described in The New York Times as a "hallowed Irish leave-us-alone-with-our-beauty ballad."[1] Of Makem's many compositions, it has become the most familiar, and is part of the common repertoire of Irish folk musicians.[2]
Content and meaning
[edit]The song is about Ireland (personified as an “old woman”) and its four provinces (represented by “green fields”), one of which remains occupied (“taken”) by the British (the “strangers”) despite the best efforts of the Irish people (her “sons”), who died trying to defend them. Its middle stanza is a description of the violence and deprivation experienced by the Irish, including the people in Northern Ireland. At the end of the song, one of her fields still shows the promise of new growth:
- "But my sons have sons, as brave as were their fathers;
- My fourth green field will bloom once again," said she.
The song is interpreted as an allegorical political statement regarding the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. The four fields are seen as the Provinces of Ireland with Ulster being the "field" that remained part of the United Kingdom after the Irish Free State separated. The old woman is seen as a traditional personification of Ireland herself (see Kathleen Ni Houlihan). The words spoken by the woman in Makem's song are taken directly from "Cathleen ni Houlihan", an early play by W. B. Yeats.
Background
[edit]The concept of Four Green Fields representing the four provinces of Ireland had been used before, having been previously used in the 1939 stained glass work My Four Green Fields by Evie Hone.[3]
Makem frequently described the song as having been inspired by a drive through the "no man's land" adjoining Northern Ireland, where he saw an old woman tending livestock. She was oblivious to the political boundaries that loomed so large in the public's eye; the land was older than the argument, and she didn't care what was shown on the map.
Makem commonly sang the song as an encore.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Tommy Makem press coverage Archived 2005-04-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Makem.com - Bio
- ^ Digital, Granite. "Home". www.thehighkings.com. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
