Four
Green Fields
is a 1967 folk song by Irish musician Tommy Makem.
The song tells of an old woman who
had four green fields; and how strangers tried to take them from
her; and how her sons died trying to defend them. Its middle
stanza is a moving description of the violence and deprivation
experienced by the Irish, including the people in
Northern Ireland
(currently part of the UK),
though the British are not explicitly identified (nor Saxons,
nor Danes). At the end of the song, one of her fields remains
out of her hands.
The song is interpreted as a parable
of the British colonization of
Ireland
and the current status of Northern Ireland.
The four fields are the provinces of
Ulster,
regarded as the "field" that is still in British hands,
Munster,
Leinster and Connacht, and the old woman is a traditional
personification of
Ireland
herself.
Folk singer
Tommy Makem is one part storyteller, one part musician, one part
singer, and one part actor, so his live shows are usually quite
lively and engaging, especially since he has spent more than
five decades in folk music. A typical Makem concert involves
traditional and contemporary Irish tunes performed on banjo and
tin whistle, with a bit of background on each song's history as
well.
Makem was born and raised in Keady, County
Armagh, Ireland, and got much of his musical education from his
mother, Sarah Makem, herself a legendary folk singer and an
ethnomusicologist before the term was coined. The songs Makem
learned from his mother provided the foundation for his later
efforts with the Clancy Brothers and his work as a duo with Liam
Clancy.
As a young man, Makem most wanted to
become an actor, so he moved to New York in the mid-1950s. He
began singing professionally in New York one night in 1956 when
he was asked to sing at Greenwich Village's Circle in the Square
Theater. After receiving $30 for singing just a few folk songs,
he was hooked. Makem began hanging out with Pete Seeger and the
other members of the Weavers in 1956, when he first saw them
perform.
In the late 1950s, Makem teamed up with
Tom, Liam and Paddy (Patrick) Clancy to form the Clancy Brothers
with Tommy Makem. The group made their professional debut at
Circle in the Square Theater in the Village and was signed to
Columbia Records by talent scout John Hammond in 1961. By then,
folk music had come into fashion in a big way. Makem frequently
shared festival bills with Seeger, Bob Dylan and other beacons
of the acoustic movement. At the 1961 Newport Folk Festival,
Makem and Joan Baez were chosen as the two most promising
newcomers to the American folk music scene. After playing to
sellout audiences at Carnegie Hall in the early 1960s, the
Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem made appearances through the
1960s on major TV shows like Ed Sullivan, The Tonight Show,
Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and other programs. Makem
originals like "Four Green Fields," "Gentle Annie," "The Rambles
of Spring," "The Winds Are Singing Freedom" and "Farewell to
Carlingford" have since become Irish folk music standards,
performed around the world.
In 1975, realizing he was forever bumping
into his old friend and partner Liam Clancy on the road, Makem
and Clancy decided to pair up for a show in Cleveland, Ohio. The
audience response was enough to convince both that they needed
each other, and for the next dozen years the two often toured
together. The pair earned platinum and gold records in Ireland.
Makem died in Dover, New Hampshire
following a lengthy battle with lung cancer. He continued to
record and perform until very close to the end. Paying tribute
to him after his death, Liam Clancy said, "He was my brother in
every way."
His sons Shane, Conor, and Rory ("The
Makem Brothers") and nephew Tom Sweeney continue the family folk
music tradition. He also had one daughter Katie Makem-Boucher
and two grandchildren, Molly Dickerman and Robert Boucher. His
wife, Mary predeceased him in 2001.
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Lyrics by Tommy Makem
What did I
have?", said the fine old woman
"What did I have?", this proud old woman did
say
"I had four green fields, each one was a
jewel
But strangers came and tried to take them
from me
I had fine, strong sons, they fought to save
my jewels
They fought and died and that was my grief",
said she
"Long time ago", said the fine old woman
"Long time ago", this proud old woman did
say
"There was war and death, plundering and
pillage
My children starved by mountain, valley and
sea
And their wailing cries, they shook the very
heavens
My four green fields ran red with their
blood", said she
"What have I now?", said the fine old woman
"What have I now?", this proud old woman did
say
"I have four green fields, one of them's in
bondage
In strangers hands that tried to take it
from me
But my sons have sons, as brave as were
their fathers
My fourth green field will bloom once
again", said she.
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