Irish soul and pride. Thank God the English have given some rights to their slaves for so many years.
When the first potato famines hit, the Americans sent corn to help in the relief, not a single Irish citizen received that aid. Due to the English and their greed.
This is documented from Southern families before the Civil War.
Seamus Heaney's poem "Requiem For The Croppies" is what Tommy recited at the very beginning. Combining that with this song made a powerful statement. And may he and Liam rest in peace.
This song is about Ireland NOT about Tommy's mother, for God's sakes. He refers to Ireland as a woman. Ireland has four provinces, one of them, Ulster, is in English hands. .
I was blessed to see him perform this in concert several times, the last time in the early 90s. This was his final song of the night. There was not a dry eye in the house.
Thanks for uploading this heartbreaking performance, yet we see the glimmer of hope at the end. Brilliant. RIP Liam and Tommy.
@ymccwis Not a battle of the sexes my fellow just a good tragic song. Men or women or horses it was a terribly sad thing and a long hard fight. Don't turn the subject stupid just enjoy the great music.
Who would dare to dislike this??? This is sung beautifully with incredible emotion and is a true testament to what really happened. Ireland is truly worth fighting for and I'm so proud of my Irish heritage.
He sings about mother , but who fought MEN , sons , boys, hold the honour for all, and end up martyrs, bet u those women begged them Men not to be so honourable ,and leave Mother at home worrying...
I was at a concert when they sang this song, and Liam Clancy commented, I dare anyone to request "THE SASH ME FATHER WORE"!!! And he was laughing, tongue in cheek!
My da used to sing this when we were kids, really loud and off key to make us laugh. Whenever he'd start "fouuuuur greeeeeen fieeeeeldsss" we'd all be like NOOOOOOOO DA NOOOOOOO! Good times :D
@marktholemew this i know only too well my friend, it was my sarcastic reminder to the bigoted fascist st. george followers that the fourth green field will bloom once again
@Tessietots Yes indeed so very beautiful.... .. the poem i think was "Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney.... saw them when they toured together in the late seventies in Cork City .. you could hear a pin drop in the theatre.... when Tommy sung this song..
I grew up on Makem and Clancy, and had the joy of meeting Tommy and Liam after a show I attended with my Mother. She called me the night Liam died, in tears. The world is a darker place with the Clancy's and Tommy Makem gone, but we have their music. Share it when you can, and keep their legacy alive.
When i watch this it makes me angry to think of the mess Fianna Fail have made of our Republic... Hopefully we will rebuild it without any Charlie Haughey's, Bertie Ahern's, Charlie McCreevy's or Brian Cowen's...
I was in my teens when I saw them at a hall in the Chicago area with my folks. Of course, as a teen I wasn't interested....however....when they played this song...I could not stop crying for the entire rest of the show.....their power to stir a cryptic teenager speaks volumes. I saw them several times more and luckily once in Ireland in 1977 and became a lifelong fan. This is our theme song every March 17th for our family St. Patrick's gathering, rightfully so. RIP Gentlemen & thanks.
First saw this in 1980s on WGBH Boston. Very poor reception in SW NH. But a very vivid memory. Glad to see and hear it again with such clarity. Of several recorded versions of FGF, this is the most stirring. Heard the TM and the C Bros once in live concert in Chicago, and of course on Ed Sullivan. Met Liam in Mpls airport when we were both on way to Boston. Sat together. Tommy on another flight met Liam at Logan and they drove to Dover, NH. Without cap, i saw Liam was as bald as I am.
I was blessed to have Tommy sing this to me at Marquette Univ. in 1968, and again in a pub in PA in 1986, with Liam Clancy accompanying. It still makes me cry. The first time I was pregnant with my first child and Tommy told me he hoped I never knew the pain the 'mother' in the song knew. I have cried every time I hear it since that day. You will both be missed, boys. Keep singing in the Heavens!
Hello Keith, you will be happy to learn America learned Tommy's Four Green Fields several decades ago. Tommy owned a pub in Amerca in Manhattan (New York City) on East
57th Street called Tommy Makem's Irish Pavillion for 16 years, where his guitar player even taught me (and others) how to play it-- and we continue to teach others. R.I.P. Tommy. R.I.P. Liam.
Hello Keith, I forgot to mention in my comment below, Liam stated at the beginning of this video Four Green Fields is a song that's "known all over the world" although even in Ireland "people think it's an old traditional song, but is was actually written by Tommy".
At his pub in America Tommy proudly told the story how his song The Winds Are Singing Freedom was the anthem in Eastern Europe during the fall of the Iron Curtain. R.I.P. Tommy. R.I.P. Liam.
Anybody else remember when Paddy Dunne ripped into the Clancy's about "making four green fields into a bleddy waltz"? Or when a reviewer in Boston some time later dinged Tommy for taking liberties with this "classic from the days of the Irish Free State"?? I love critics.
I think of my Grandmother and her four sons. She called them her Four Green Fields. What an incredibly powerful performance of one of the greatest Irish ballads of all time.
THANS SO MUCH,i was in Lahinch in County Clare in 1981 when they did this poem before the 4 green fields,the 4 green fields are the 4 provinces of Ireland.
Cathleen Ní Houlihan - play by WB Yeats encouraging sacrifice their lives for the heroine Cathleen Ní Houlihan - an independent Irish state. She describes her four "beautiful green fields," representing the four provinces, that have been unjustly taken from her. She requests a blood sacrifice, declaring that "many a child will be born and there will be no father at the christening". "They shall be remembered forever, They shall be alive forever, They shall be speaking forever, "
Simple and beautiful song speaking of great love for one's land! I sang this in high school music class - it was one of my favorite pieces of music and still is! Lovely!
Brilliant! Tommy Makem caputured so much in the lyrics of this song. Makem and Clancy went through the motions in many a song, but when it came to the business end of the song list - there was no-one better! Never underestimate the brilliance of this duo. The subtle things like Liam looking in a sombre way at Tommy when the poignant lyrics were sung so majestically by Tommy should never go unoticed - simply beautiful....
Always love to hear Tommy recite this. The last line of the poem is actually 'And in August the barley grew up out of the grave.' Tommy changes it to 'But...' which to my ear changes the whole tone and meaning of the poem.
Two legends - fantastic!
gompth1966 1 day ago
Two people work for the BBC.
gompth1966 5 days ago
Irish soul and pride. Thank God the English have given some rights to their slaves for so many years.
When the first potato famines hit, the Americans sent corn to help in the relief, not a single Irish citizen received that aid. Due to the English and their greed.
This is documented from Southern families before the Civil War.
bcwest56 1 month ago 2
Seamus Heaney's poem "Requiem For The Croppies" is what Tommy recited at the very beginning. Combining that with this song made a powerful statement. And may he and Liam rest in peace.
wtrachim 1 month ago
WOW such a powerfull song performed by two of the greatest, absolutely beautiful made my hair stand up WOW
1963PKELLY 2 months ago
this is probably the best song ive ever heard.
keepitacrime 3 months ago 3
This song is about Ireland NOT about Tommy's mother, for God's sakes. He refers to Ireland as a woman. Ireland has four provinces, one of them, Ulster, is in English hands. .
I was blessed to see him perform this in concert several times, the last time in the early 90s. This was his final song of the night. There was not a dry eye in the house.
Thanks for uploading this heartbreaking performance, yet we see the glimmer of hope at the end. Brilliant. RIP Liam and Tommy.
foreverspring 5 months ago 2
I love this song. I also thought it was an old traditional song, maybe because it rings true for centuries in the making. Bless you Tommy Makem.
MarieGraceCooney 5 months ago 3
shiver down my spine at end of recitation.
balladmad97 6 months ago 2
Sob.
drydogg 6 months ago
Brings a tear to my eye and a smile t my heart. Thanks for posting this gem!
WyzDat 6 months ago 2
2 dislikes, really have no idea as to what talent is on that stage, and now sing with Gods choir, the like will never again be seen x
AnnalisaMCF 6 months ago 3
Very Moving, Fantastic!
rynmldwny 7 months ago
@ymccwis Not a battle of the sexes my fellow just a good tragic song. Men or women or horses it was a terribly sad thing and a long hard fight. Don't turn the subject stupid just enjoy the great music.
Danman3ish 9 months ago 2
Tommy & Liam 2 finer gentleman you will never find,Irelands finest gems. RIP
TheBUTCHF52 10 months ago
Both these incredible troubadours are gone and the world is much the poorer because of it! Thank you and RIP Liam & Tommy!
franklowell 11 months ago
Who would dare to dislike this??? This is sung beautifully with incredible emotion and is a true testament to what really happened. Ireland is truly worth fighting for and I'm so proud of my Irish heritage.
HayHay988 11 months ago
What a performance!! Still gives me goosebumps and a lump in my throat !
jonruss56 11 months ago
the finest honest from the heart singers 30 years i listened to them no different now absolutely marvellous
tezzabanboy 11 months ago
My mother's favorite song....In my heart I can still hear her singing it.
JoanMcN1 11 months ago
He sings about mother , but who fought MEN , sons , boys, hold the honour for all, and end up martyrs, bet u those women begged them Men not to be so honourable ,and leave Mother at home worrying...
ymccwis 1 year ago
@ymccwis
Mother is Ireland.
JoeM25 11 months ago
Mother is Ireland.
JoeM25 11 months ago
@ymccwis the women fought too - trust me, Irish women are not the sit at home by the fire type!
Lilaeth 10 months ago
@ymccwis the women fought too - trust me, Irish women are not the sit at home by the fire type!
Lilaeth 10 months ago
Sung with such true depth of feeling .Simply oozing emotion.
Awesome,awesome,performance.
andrew67 1 year ago
this song always makes me cry... but I love to hear it
nanabar1 1 year ago
one of the most patriotic songs i love without insulting the invaders,,peace
ymccwis 1 year ago
rip tommy makem. When they made you they threw away the mold.
veryrancid 1 year ago 4
Wow!!!
Radox22 1 year ago
I was at a concert when they sang this song, and Liam Clancy commented, I dare anyone to request "THE SASH ME FATHER WORE"!!! And he was laughing, tongue in cheek!
ambyyy1 1 year ago
he wrote this and sang it with a passion lovely , i am wondering what his mum was like, bet she was lovely, 1 ofof my fav irish songs ever ....
1962pj 1 year ago 5
Comment removed
wemonk 1 year ago
One of the most beautiful Irish songs ever written and recorded....
sixmilebridgeandsf 1 year ago 11
This is probably one of the most powerful songs I have ever heard. What a wonderful way to paint a picture of history.
aodchain 1 year ago 20
a true legend sadly missed
sineadeo10 1 year ago 4
Four Green Fields - Tiocfaidh ár lá!!!
aoh51phil 1 year ago
Sleep in peace Tommy. You are Ireland and always will be. Slainte.
maireaine1950 1 year ago 3
A Great man Tommy (and the Clancy's too) RIP
sainglain 1 year ago
Still gives me goosebumps!
cgms310 1 year ago 5
My da used to sing this when we were kids, really loud and off key to make us laugh. Whenever he'd start "fouuuuur greeeeeen fieeeeeldsss" we'd all be like NOOOOOOOO DA NOOOOOOO! Good times :D
CrownedWithLaurels 1 year ago 2
i have listened to tommy makem for 40 years absolutely marvellous .i will listen to his sons now
tezzabanboy 1 year ago 2
the perfect song for st.georges day
TheJamboy47 1 year ago
@TheJamboy47
They're irish not english!
marktholemew 1 year ago
@marktholemew this i know only too well my friend, it was my sarcastic reminder to the bigoted fascist st. george followers that the fourth green field will bloom once again
TheJamboy47 1 year ago
@TheJamboy47 aw very good so :D
marktholemew 1 year ago
This really plucks some strings...unbelievable stuff.
loobeyhead 1 year ago
Everybody, who loves Ireland, musst like this song!
kdn1956 1 year ago
Awesome Classic! Thanks for posting this!!
Survive2Day 1 year ago
So Very Beautiful.
Tessietots 1 year ago
@Tessietots Yes indeed so very beautiful.... .. the poem i think was "Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney.... saw them when they toured together in the late seventies in Cork City .. you could hear a pin drop in the theatre.... when Tommy sung this song..
malachy1847 1 year ago
I grew up on Makem and Clancy, and had the joy of meeting Tommy and Liam after a show I attended with my Mother. She called me the night Liam died, in tears. The world is a darker place with the Clancy's and Tommy Makem gone, but we have their music. Share it when you can, and keep their legacy alive.
daltonultra 1 year ago 2
Well said Kennyd100 they would'nt run a sweet shop
seventynine1 1 year ago
When i watch this it makes me angry to think of the mess Fianna Fail have made of our Republic... Hopefully we will rebuild it without any Charlie Haughey's, Bertie Ahern's, Charlie McCreevy's or Brian Cowen's...
Kennyd100 1 year ago
@Kennyd100 rebuild it including the fourth green field too
TomBarry192I 1 year ago
This is the most touching song i have ever heard!!! I miss my grandma sooo much
Liamspicks 1 year ago
it is hard to believe that they all have passed away. We need them now in our time of need in the USA
BSULLY3614 1 year ago 2
A truly magnificent rendering. Makem and Clancy truly were remarkable.
MrSuperMoran 1 year ago
Comment removed
borudian 2 years ago
I was in my teens when I saw them at a hall in the Chicago area with my folks. Of course, as a teen I wasn't interested....however....when they played this song...I could not stop crying for the entire rest of the show.....their power to stir a cryptic teenager speaks volumes. I saw them several times more and luckily once in Ireland in 1977 and became a lifelong fan. This is our theme song every March 17th for our family St. Patrick's gathering, rightfully so. RIP Gentlemen & thanks.
chinludy 2 years ago 6
For those who don't know, the 'fine auld woman' referred to is Eire herself, in the Irish 'sean bhean bhocht'.
I miss you, Uncle Tommy.
borudian 2 years ago
Just look at the intensity between them at 2.59 This was a double act that the world will not see the like of again. Awesome.
Vince1303 2 years ago
Wonderful.
Jangofett221 2 years ago 2
God rest both their beloved souls. - Blessings - Rene
mammyoriordan 2 years ago 3
breath taking...
donalb87 2 years ago
R.I.P. Tommy. R.I.P. Liam.
VenusInAries 2 years ago
First saw this in 1980s on WGBH Boston. Very poor reception in SW NH. But a very vivid memory. Glad to see and hear it again with such clarity. Of several recorded versions of FGF, this is the most stirring. Heard the TM and the C Bros once in live concert in Chicago, and of course on Ed Sullivan. Met Liam in Mpls airport when we were both on way to Boston. Sat together. Tommy on another flight met Liam at Logan and they drove to Dover, NH. Without cap, i saw Liam was as bald as I am.
Baldymeter 2 years ago 2
im not irish or anything, but i looove this song, respect to those who were oppressed by the brits
dudewithcomedy1 2 years ago 3
I was blessed to have Tommy sing this to me at Marquette Univ. in 1968, and again in a pub in PA in 1986, with Liam Clancy accompanying. It still makes me cry. The first time I was pregnant with my first child and Tommy told me he hoped I never knew the pain the 'mother' in the song knew. I have cried every time I hear it since that day. You will both be missed, boys. Keep singing in the Heavens!
melrosemiss 2 years ago 8
Comment removed
blasketboy 2 years ago
I think America needs to learn this song.
keithtube1 2 years ago
@keithtube1 some of us do
orckiller91 2 years ago
Hello Keith, you will be happy to learn America learned Tommy's Four Green Fields several decades ago. Tommy owned a pub in Amerca in Manhattan (New York City) on East
57th Street called Tommy Makem's Irish Pavillion for 16 years, where his guitar player even taught me (and others) how to play it-- and we continue to teach others. R.I.P. Tommy. R.I.P. Liam.
VenusInAries 2 years ago 2
Hello Keith, I forgot to mention in my comment below, Liam stated at the beginning of this video Four Green Fields is a song that's "known all over the world" although even in Ireland "people think it's an old traditional song, but is was actually written by Tommy".
At his pub in America Tommy proudly told the story how his song The Winds Are Singing Freedom was the anthem in Eastern Europe during the fall of the Iron Curtain. R.I.P. Tommy. R.I.P. Liam.
VenusInAries 2 years ago 2
Beautiful song about lovely Ireland !
josparkes1 2 years ago
epicccc
Wackooo 2 years ago
they dont makem like tommy any more
retour78 2 years ago 59
Anybody else remember when Paddy Dunne ripped into the Clancy's about "making four green fields into a bleddy waltz"? Or when a reviewer in Boston some time later dinged Tommy for taking liberties with this "classic from the days of the Irish Free State"?? I love critics.
psaltseller 2 years ago
Very sad song, sung by by the very man who wrote it. Magic.
johnkeppel90 2 years ago
I think of my Grandmother and her four sons. She called them her Four Green Fields. What an incredibly powerful performance of one of the greatest Irish ballads of all time.
dgomalley74 2 years ago 2
THANS SO MUCH,i was in Lahinch in County Clare in 1981 when they did this poem before the 4 green fields,the 4 green fields are the 4 provinces of Ireland.
ambyyy1 2 years ago
That poem Tommy recites at the start is so powerful
beggo321 2 years ago
its fits the mood of the song perfectly
orckiller91 2 years ago
Isn't it though? It's called "Requiem for the Croppies" by Seamus Heaney.
rossmcl177 2 years ago
ahh tommy ,,, rip lad !!!
DJL1955 2 years ago
Croppies will never lie down
RIP Tommy -
Up the Republic!
TomBarry192I 2 years ago 2
powerful
irishbraq 2 years ago 2
One of my all time favorite songs!!
piper2078 2 years ago 3
absolutely amazing....such a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics :)
RIP Tommy
ArdMhacha09 2 years ago 2
Cathleen Ní Houlihan - play by WB Yeats encouraging sacrifice their lives for the heroine Cathleen Ní Houlihan - an independent Irish state. She describes her four "beautiful green fields," representing the four provinces, that have been unjustly taken from her. She requests a blood sacrifice, declaring that "many a child will be born and there will be no father at the christening". "They shall be remembered forever, They shall be alive forever, They shall be speaking forever, "
PADRAEG 2 years ago
there's just one word for this: GREAT!
k0ybe 2 years ago
We've listened to so many 'songs of freedom' for years and years, this was always the song that simply told the story as it is. R.I.P. Tommy.
blasketboy 2 years ago 4
Simple and beautiful song speaking of great love for one's land! I sang this in high school music class - it was one of my favorite pieces of music and still is! Lovely!
getjaymi78 3 years ago 2
Brilliant! Tommy Makem caputured so much in the lyrics of this song. Makem and Clancy went through the motions in many a song, but when it came to the business end of the song list - there was no-one better! Never underestimate the brilliance of this duo. The subtle things like Liam looking in a sombre way at Tommy when the poignant lyrics were sung so majestically by Tommy should never go unoticed - simply beautiful....
macliam8 3 years ago 7
This must be Tommy's greatest song such a voice such passion only Bard Of Amargh can rise above this
cheerydavie 3 years ago 3
his eyes look as though hes watching it
orckiller91 3 years ago
i remember learnin tis song in sixth class brilliant
MGARVODIE 3 years ago
Absolutely wonderful. Brings tears to my eyes everytime.
bobafettucini 3 years ago 5
I love this song. The last minute is so beautiful. Simply amazing.
Tommy Makem is a legend and will be missed.
@cinciquadsquad,
Five-sixths of a beautiful island and peace. The people will make the choice, both north and south from this point. Peace is better than conflict.
Good day
eireismehome 3 years ago 5
what have i now?
cinciquadsquad 3 years ago 18
Absolutely beautiful!
greensea4 3 years ago
This man is my hero.
HaulAwayJoe 3 years ago 2
Lovely , very beautiful , thanks
howdofolks 3 years ago 2
Absolutely wonderful! This version, with the beautiful recitation of Seamus Heaney's moving poem, is certainly one of Tommy's best.
Siobhan1195 3 years ago 8
Thanks Conor...just wonderful as always
TommyPM 3 years ago
Wow!
PiscesCafe 3 years ago
Always love to hear Tommy recite this. The last line of the poem is actually 'And in August the barley grew up out of the grave.' Tommy changes it to 'But...' which to my ear changes the whole tone and meaning of the poem.
Erchamion65 3 years ago
Beautiful!
Erchamion65 3 years ago