Monday 6 February 2012
Tune of the Day: The Green Fields of America
Traditional Irish reel
As Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains said, this “is surely one of the finest songs of emigration in our tradition and many versions of it abound”. The tune is generally thought to have Ulster origins, although at least one version of the lyrics has the emigrant bidding farewell to County Wicklow in the East or Ireland. The earliest published version is to be found in a 19th century collection. American fiddler John Hartford believed the tune is a cousin to “Speed the Plow”.