There Were Roses by Tommy Sands

After hearing this song on BBC Radio Ulster, sung by Kathryn Duncan (I think) I decided
to learn it on guitar. The version of the song I downloaded was The Sands Family - There
Were Roses, a live recording from 1988. This work below is tabbed to be played with that
track. I have seen one other version of this song tabbed on christianguitar.org and it
uses "Bm" for parts of the song, however when I was tabbing out the live version I have,
I found that "Bm" didn't work.

Thanks to D.Baderman, who tabbed out the Christianguitar.org version, as he gave me a
base to work from for my own tab for the live version.

It's pretty accurate, however I think that the end of each verse when it ends with G,
should have another note played. What that note is however I'm not sure. Please send
any corrections to eekeekeek@hotmail.co.uk.

Visit Tommy Sands website: http://www.tommysands.com/

Standard tuning (or in my case, slightly flat of standard), with a capo on the second fret.




D
my song for you this evening
     G       A       D
It's not to make you sad
                       A
nor for adding to the sorrows
         G                
of this troubled northern land
D
but lately I been thinking
        G           A       D
and it just won't leave my mind
                   A
to tell you of two friends one time
          G        
who were both good friends of mine
D
alan bell from benagh
          G        A       D
he lived just across the fields
                    A
a great man for the music
         G       
and the dancing and the reels
D
o'malley came from south armagh
    G           A     D
to court young alice fair
                            A
and we'd often meet on the ryan road
     G                    
and laughter filled the air



           G  D   G D               G D
there were roses, roses, there were roses
        D            A          G            D
and the tears of the people ran together



D
alan he was protestant
     G        A       D
and sean was catholic born
                A
it never made a difference
        G
for the friendship it was strong
D
and sometimes in the evening
          G        A            D
when we heard the sound of the drums
                 A
we said it won't divide us
         G
we will always be the ones
D
for the ground our fathers ploughed in
         G        A       D
well the soil is just the same
                        A
and the places where we say our prayers
      G
have just got different names
D
we talked about the friends who died
     G            A     D
and hoped there'd be no more
                           A
it was little then that we realised
     G               
the tragedy in store



           G  D   G D               G D
there were roses, roses, there were roses
        D            A          G            D
and the tears of the people ran together




D
it was on the sunday morning
         G      A        D
when the awful news came round
                A
another killing has been done
     G
just outside newry town
D
we knew that alan danced up there
    G       A         D
we knew he liked the band
                   A
when we heard that he was dead
         G
we just could not understand
D
we gathered at the graveside
         G       A     D
on that cold and rainy day
                     A
and the minister he closed his eyes
        G
and he prayed for no revenge
D
and all the ones who knew him
      G        A    D
from along the ryan road

bowed their heads
    A
and said a prayer
        G
for the resting of his soul



           G  D   G D               G D
there were roses, roses, there were roses
        D            A          G            D
and the tears of the people ran together



D
well fear it filled the countryside
          G       A     D
there was fear in every home
                           A
when the car of death came prowling
           G
round the lonely ryan road
D
a catholic will be killed tonight
   G    A      D
to even up the score
                    A
o christ it's young o'malley
             G
that they've taken from the door
D
"alan was my friend" he cried
   G           A        D
he begged them with his fear
                 A
but centuries of hatred
     G
have ears that cannot hear
D
an eye for an eye
     G        A           D
was all that filled their minds
                     A
and another eye for another eye
      G
till everyone is blind


           G  D   G D               G D
there were roses, roses, there were roses
        D            A          G            D
and the tears of the people ran together


D
so my song for you this evening
     G      A        D
it's not to make you sad
                      A
nor for adding to the sorrows
        G
of this troubled northern land
D
but lately I been thinking
       G          A        D
and it just won't leave my mind
                   A
to tell you of two friends one time
         G
who were both good friends of mine

D
I don't know where the moral is
   G          A           D
or where this song should end
                      A
but I wonder just how many wars
    G
are fought between good friends
D
and those that give the orders
    G       A       D
are not the ones to die
              A
it's bell and o'malley
         G
and the likes of you and i




           G  D   G D               G D
there were roses, roses, there were roses
        D            A          G            D
and the tears of the people ran together

           G  D   G D               G D
there were roses, roses, there were roses

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