Showing posts with label Chords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chords. Show all posts

8 Oct 2025

Daoiri Farrell - Sonny's Dream - Lyrics and Chords

“Sonny’s Dream” is a beloved folk song written in 1976 by Newfoundland songwriter Ron Hynes, inspired by his uncle, Sonny O’Neill. Though often mistaken for a traditional ballad due to its timeless feel, the song is a modern classic that has been widely embraced in the folk world.

The story centers on Sonny, a young man tied to a lonely rural life with his mother. His father is away at sea, and Sonny stays home to help on the farm. While he dreams of a wider world beyond the fields and ocean, he remains grounded by a sense of duty and the emotional weight of his mother’s loneliness. The lyrics explore this quiet tension—between responsibility and yearning, family and freedom.

Originally recorded by Hynes’ band, The Wonderful Grand Band, “Sonny’s Dream” has since been covered by artists like Christy Moore, Mary Black, Emmylou Harris, and others. Daoirí Farrell’s recent version, featured on his album The Wedding Above in Glencree, offers a heartfelt, stripped-back rendition that highlights the song’s emotional core. Through Farrell’s voice, the story of Sonny becomes not just a personal tale, but a universal one—about love, sacrifice, and the dreams we leave behind.

(written with ChatGPT)


{t:Sonny's Dream}

{st:Daoiri Farrell - Ron Hynes}

Capo 5


 

(Intro)

[Am]   [G/B]  [C] 

[Am]   [G/B]  [C] 

 


Sonny [G]lives on the farm [C/G]in a [G]wide open space [C]

[G]Take off your sneakers [G/B]and [C]stay out the [G/B]race

And [D]lay down your head [C]by that [D]sweet river bed

[G/B]Sonny al[C]ways remembers the words Mama [G]sai[D]d     

 


{soc}

Sonny [G]don't go away, [C]I'm [G]here all alone [C]

Your [G]daddy's a sailor [G/B]and he [C]never comes [G/B]home

[C]And [D]nights are so long and silence goes on

[G/B]I'm [C]feeling so tired and not all [G/B]that [G]stro[D]ng     

{eoc}

 


Oh, [G]Sonny works the farm though he's barely a man

And there ain't that much to do, but he [C]does what he [G]can

And he [D]watches the sea from his room on the stairs

And the [C]waves keep on rollin', they've done that for [G]years

 


Well, it's one [G]hundred miles to town, Sonny's never been there

so he goes to the highway and he [C]stands and he [G]stares

And the [D]mail comes at four but the mailman is old

Oh, but [C]still he dreams his dreams full of silver and [G]gold    [D] 

 

 

{soc}

Sonny [G]don't go away, I'm here all alone

Your daddy's a sailor and he [C]never comes h[G]ome

And [D]nights are so long and silence goes on

And I'm [C]feeling so tired and not all that [G]strong    [D] 

{eoc}

 


Sonny's [G]dreams can't be real, they're just stories he's read

Stars in his eyes, oh, and [C]dreams in his [G]head

And he's [D]hungry inside for the wide world outside

I [C]know I can't hold him, I've tried and I've [G]tried and I've [Am]tried    [G]    [C] 

 

 

(Outro)

Oh, I've [Am]tried       [G]       [C] 

And I've [Am]tried       [G]       [C] 



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28 Sept 2025

Daoiri Farrell - Collected chordsheets and Tabs











Over the years, I have collected several tabs and chord sheets from Daoiri Farrell. Over the last 10 years, he has undoubtedly become one of Ireland's most influential singers. I first met him in 2011 at a weekend workshop and was impressed by his manner and musicality. At the time, he was still relatively unknown and had just released his first CD, which I had to purchase immediately. I still have a video of him playing my bouzouki from Heiner Dreizehnter and singing the song ‘Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore’. I had requested this song because he had sung it at the ceilidh the night before. You can also find this video on YouTube.

Here are the links to my chordsheets and tabs:

A Pint Of Plain

Biddy Mulligan

Blackwaterside / New Tabs!

Bogie's Bonnie Belle

Boozin'

The Creggan White Hare

Galway Girl

The Galway Shawl

The Galway Shawl - Intro and chords

Fergie McCormack

John O'Dreams

The Little Drummer

McShane

The Mickey Dam

Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore and here

Pat Rainey

The Shady Woods Of Truagh

Sonny's Dream

Sweet Portadown

Tipping It Up To Nancy

Valentine O'Hara

The Wedding Above In Glencree

Windmills


Here's a link to a concert I filmed with his Trio in 2019. This is an excerpt, The Blue Tar Road.


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16 Sept 2025

Matt Heaton - Chord Overview - Chords in the key of G

Interestingly, most people visit the chord page here on the blog. Perhaps this great video by Matt Heaton gets a little lost in the shuffle. In this video, he shows chord shapes in the key of G major. Many chords are close together, making them easy to play. I posted the information on the video about four years ago. Perhaps you'd like to watch it again. 

Matt has published several videos on chords and tunes on youtube. Just look for "Backer Corner Bouzouki" and you'll find lots of good instructional videos he made.

Here's a list of his Backer Corner videos (Bouzouki and Guitar )



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2 Mar 2024

Accompanying in C-Major

Three possibilities to fret the chords  C,F, G. This might be useful if you have the capo on 2nd fret and the next tune is in D. It's always good to know chord shapes which are placed together near, so they are easy to fret. It also sounds better if the accompaniment does not contain such large leaps in pitch.


















The other chords you might need are Am and Dm which are:

Am: 2,2,3,0  | 2,2,0,2 | 5,7,7,0

Dm: 2,0,0,3 | 7,0,8,0 | 10,12,0,0


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7 Feb 2024

Toormore Slide, An Chóisir, The Wedding Feast, The House Party - One tune, many names - Lots of chord possibilities

I always loved the Toormore Slide. Now I tried to collect some chord possibilities and I found a lot of them. Some are obvious, some might sound a bit strange. If you want try them and tell me which are your favourites.






















Here's a version with whistle: Athas


A very slow Fiddle take by Mossie Martin


And a fast one by The Press Gang



4 Feb 2024

Daoiri Farrell - Bouzouki chords for beginners

 Daoiri shows some basic chords for beginners. Just the basic chords, that's all, but helpful for starters.

3 Feb 2024

The Butterfly Slipjig, different chord settings

 I collected some chord settings for accompanying the slipjig The Butterfly. Here's my listing:



20 Jul 2023

Eamon Coughlan - Basic Chords for Folk Music

 Here's some chord theory basics from Eamon Coughlan. He explains how chords are built and gives some tips for playing chords on the bouzouki.


3 Jan 2023

Bouzouki Tips by Fernando Barroso

Fernando Barroso, a fantastic bouzouki player from Spain has recently published some videos on youtube and instagram where he shows some tips for beginners of the bouzouki. They are all in Spanish but you can get subtitles in English.

You can find him on instagram  

This is his youtube channel where you'll find lots more videos of his playing. Highly recommended!

 

First Video about picks:

 

 

Second video how to get a better sound:


Third video use of capo - how to build chords


4 Nov 2021

Steve Knightley - The Mandocello (GDAD Chords)

 Steve Knightley from Show of Hands shows some nice Chords and shows how to use them.