The Kerry Recruit chords by The Corrie Folk Trio

• Difficulty: Beginner 👶

https://www.youtube.com/watch v=PDe_Mj5Y1-M

Verse 1:
G                            D7          G
At the age of nineteen I was diggin' the land,
        A7                        D
With me brogues on me feet and me spade in me hand,
      G                         Bm
"Oh," says I to meself, "What a pity to see,
       Em                     D
Such a fine Kerry lad footin' turf in Tralee."


Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.

Verse 2:
     G                             D7            G
So I buttered me brogues and shook hands with me spade,
         A7                    D
 Dashed off to the fair like a gallant young blade,
    G                            Bm
The sergeant comes up and says, "Will ye enlist "
       Em                           D
"Sure, sergeant," says I, "stick the bob in me fist!"


Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.


Verse 3:
     G                           D7           G
Then up comes the captain, and a man of great fame,
 A7                       D
Straightway he asks me my country and name.
         G                     Bm
“Well, I told you before, I’ll tell you again,
   Em                     D
Me father and mother were both Kerry men."


Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.


Verse 4:
G                        D7            G
Now the first thing they gave me, they called it a gun
    A7                             D
And under the trigger I nestled me thumb
    G                     Bm
The gun it spat fire, and vomited smoke
       Em                        D
And it gave a great leap and me shoulder it broke


Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.



Verse 5:
         G                            D7          G
Now, the first place they took me was down by the sea,
   A7                           D
On board a great warship, bound for the Crimee
       G                        Bm
Three sticks in the middle, all hung with great sheets,
          Em                  D
Sure, she walked on the water without any feet.


Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.


Verse 6:
   G                         D7       G
We reached the Balaclave all safe and all sound,
    A7                      D
And wet, tired and weary we lay on the ground,
   G                       Bm
At morning at daybreak the bugler did call,
         Em                       D
And they served us a breakfast of powder and ball.


Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.


Verse 7:
       G                 D7            G
Now we whipped them at Alma likewise Innerman,
        A7                      D
But the Russians they foiled us along the Redan,
      G                    Bm
While scaling the ramparts meself lost an eye,
      Em                       D
And a great Russian bullet ran away with me thigh,


Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.


Verse 8:
         G                       D7             G
Then the surgeon comes up and he soon stops the blood
     A7                   D
And he gave me an elegant leg made of wood
         G                    Bm
And they gave me a pension of tenpence a day
     Em                   D
Contented with shellacs I live on half-pay."


Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.


Verse 9:
    G                         D7          G
Oh, that is the story that me grandfather told,
       A7                 D
As he sat by the fire all withered and old,
   G                           Bm
“Remember,” said he, “that the Irish fight well,
        Em                  D
But the Russian artillery's hotter than Hell.”

Chorus:
          G               Em
With yer' kerry-ay-ah, fa dal de ral dah,
D                          G
Kerry ay-ah, fa dal de ral day.