Irish Songs in a Woman's Key: The Sally Gardens

All the guitar song books that I've come across, for folk music or particularly for Irish songs, annotate the songs in keys that are suitable for men.   Women who are starting to play guitar and who haven't mastered the art of transposing yet ( a subject for another post) try to play the songs and give up really quickly because either the song is way too low or way too high.  

Several of my female students ask me for the chords of songs so I thought it'd be good to start a series here with particular focus on Irish songs, both traditional and contemporary.  These keys are the keys in which I play and sing the songs.   If you need to go a little bit higher, add your capo to the first or second fret.

The Sally Gardens, 
written by W.B.Yeats in 1889 
The tune is traditional (The Maids of the Mountain Shore)

              G                 D      C     G

It was down by the Sally Gar-dens

         C         D          G

My love and I did meet.

G              D        C   G

She passed the Sally Gar-dens

            C     D                G

With little snow-white feet

        Em      Am          D

She bid me take love easy

             C                 D        G

As the leaves grow on the tree.

       G            D              C   G

But I being young and fool-ish

                 C          D    G

And with her did not agree.

G             D       C     G

In a field down by the ri - ver

         C         D          G

My love and I did stand

        G          D          C      G

And on my leaning shoulder

        C           D                 G

She laid her snow-white hand.

        Em      Am         D

She bid me take life easy,

             C               D            G

As the grass grows on the weirs,

       G         D             C      G

But I was young and fool-ish

        C             D        G

And now am full of tears.

Repeat Verse 1.

Here's a beautiful version of this song, sung by Maura O'Connell and Karen Mathieson on the wonderful TV show, the Transatlantic Sessions.   
The key above is the same as they're singing in here.

This blog is Day 8 of Sarah Allen's 30 day blog challenge