{title: Fiddler's Green}
{artist: John Conolly}
{album: Written 1966 by Yorkshire fisherman-songwriter John Conolly; widely treated as traditional but copyright resides with Conolly}
{key: G}
{tempo: 85}
{difficulty: beginner}
{phase: 4}
{strand: S}
{feel: ballad}
{lead_voice: mid}
{lead_mode: solo}
{lead_demand: moderate}
{harmony: M,H,B}
{a_cappella: no}
{kit: conc,whs,gtr}
{set_role: breather}
{lang: en}
{country_tags: UK}
{copyright: copyrighted}
{tags: afterlife,chorus,copyrighted,english,forecastle,harmony,shanty,singalong,slow,yorkshire}
{credit: John Conolly — 'Fiddler's Green' (1966). (c) John Conolly. Chord skeleton only — for full lyrics see John Conolly's published works or licensed lyric services.}

{c: The fisherman's-afterlife song. John Conolly wrote it in 1966 about Grimsby fishermen heading to "Fiddler's Green" — the paradise where the bottles never empty, the women never grow old, and the fish jump into the net. Often mistaken for traditional; Conolly is still living and the song is under copyright.}
{c: Beautiful gentle melody, big singalong chorus, the Mayne Stays' first soft three-part harmony piece.}
{c: Three chords (G, C, D, plus Em). Slow, around 80-90 BPM.}
{c: CHORD SKELETON ONLY. Copyrighted lyrics.}

{c: ===== STRUCTURE =====}
{c: Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus. Three verses, three sung choruses.}

{start_of_verse}
{c: VERSE: gentle lead, light strum or fingerpicking.}
[G] / / / | [C] / / / | [G] / [Em] / | [D] / / /
[G] / / / | [C] / / / | [G] / [D] / | [G] / / /
{end_of_verse}

{start_of_chorus}
{c: CHORUS: "Wrap me up in me oilskin and jumper..." Full crew harmony.}
[C] / / / | [G] / / / | [C] / / / | [D] / / /
[C] / / / | [G] / [Em] / | [C] / [D] / | [G] / / /
{end_of_chorus}

{c: ===== HARMONY ARRANGEMENT =====}
{c: Lead carries the melody throughout. Harmony enters on the chorus with two parts (third above) first, three parts (third + fifth above) by the second chorus.}
{c: The chorus is the entire harmonic moment of the song — verses stay lead-only.}
{c: Keep the dynamic gentle throughout. This is not a loud song; it's intimate.}

{c: ===== REFERENCE RECORDINGS =====}
{c: John Conolly — the original 1966 recording.}
{c: The Spinners; Tim Hart and Maddy Prior; The Wakes; many British folk acts.}
{c: The Longest Johns — modern shanty-band arrangement.}
{c: Great Big Sea has performed it live.}

{c: ===== NOTE =====}
{c: Because the song is so widely sung in folk clubs and folk festivals, it's often mistakenly credited as "traditional." It isn't — respect Conolly's authorship.}