John Riley
Tim O'BrienVersion1
90
Chords in this song
Strum
D-DU-UDU
John Riley came from Galway Town in the years of the Irish hunger
And he sailed away to Amerikay when the country was much younger . . .
Now the place was strange and work was scarce, and all he knew was farming
So he followed his other Irish friends to a job in the U S Army
Adventure calls and some men run
And this is their sad story
Some get drunk on demon rum And some get drunk on glory
Now they marched down Texas way to the banks of the Rio Grande
And they built a fort on the banks above to taunt old Santa Annay
They were treated bad and paid worse, and then the fighting started
And the more they fought the less they thought of the damn old U S Army
Now when the church bells ring on a Sunday morn it set his soul to shiver
He saw the senoritas washing their hair on the far side of the river
Then John Riley and 200 more Irish mercenaries
They cast their lot, right or not, south of the Rio Granday
Now they fought bravely under the flag of the San Patricios
Till the Yankee soldiers beat them down at the battle of Churubusco
Then 15 men were whipped like mules, on their cheeks had a hot iron branded
They had to dig the graves of 50 more who were hanging fate-in-handed
CHORUS then full INSTR verse
Now John Riley stands and drinks alone at a bar in Vera Cruz,
And he wonders if it matters much if you win or if-a you lose
"I'm a man who can't go home, I'm a vagabond," says he,
"I'm a victim of some wanderlust and divided loyalty."
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Readable chord sheet for John Riley by Tim O'Brien
[Dm] John Riley came from [F] Galway Town in the [Dm] years of the Irish [G] hunger
And he [Dm] sailed away to [F] Amerikay when the [C] country was much younger [Dm] . . .
Now the place was strange and [F] work was scarce, and [Dm] all he knew was farming [G]
So he [Dm] followed his other [F] Irish friends to a [C] job in the U S [Dm] Army
[F] Adventure calls and [Dm] some men run
And [F] this is their sad [G] story
[Dm] Some get drunk on [F] demon rum And [C] some get drunk on [Dm] glory
Now they marched down [F] Texas way to the [Dm] banks of the Rio [G] Grande
And they [Dm] built a fort on the [F] banks above to [C] taunt old Santa [Dm] Annay
They were [Dm] treated bad and [F] paid worse, and [Dm] then the fighting [G] started
And the [Dm] more they fought the [F] less they thought of the [C] damn old U S [Dm] Army
Now when the church bells ring on a [F] Sunday morn it [Dm] set his soul to [G] shiver
He saw the [Dm] senoritas [F] washing their hair on the [C] far side of the [Dm] river
Then John Riley and 200 [F] more [Dm] Irish mercen[G]aries
They [Dm] cast their lot, [F] right or not, [C] south of the Rio [Dm] Granday
Now they fought bravely [F] under the flag of the [Dm] San Patricios [G]
Till the [Dm] Yankee soldiers [F] beat them down at the [C] battle of Churu[Dm]busco
Then 15 men were [F] whipped like mules, on their [Dm] cheeks had a hot iron [G] branded
They had to [Dm] dig the graves of [F] 50 more who were [C] hanging fate-in-[Dm]handed
CHORUS then full INSTR verse
Now John Riley stands and [F] drinks alone at a [Dm] bar in Vera [G] Cruz,
And he [Dm] wonders if it [F] matters much if you [C] win or if-a you [Dm] lose
"I'm a man who [F] can't go home, I'm a [Dm] vagabond," says [G] he,
"I'm a [Dm] victim of some [F] wanderlust and [C] divided loyal[Dm]ty."