The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is an Irish ballad
written by Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836–1883), a
Limerick-born poet and professor of English literature.
The song is written from the perspective of a doomed
young Wexford rebel who is about to sacrifice his
relationship with his loved one and plunge into the
cauldron of violence associated with the 1798 rebellion
in Ireland. The references to barley in the song derive
from the fact that the rebels often carried barley or
oats in their pockets as...(+)
The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is an Irish ballad
written by Robert Dwyer Joyce (1836–1883), a
Limerick-born poet and professor of English literature.
The song is written from the perspective of a doomed
young Wexford rebel who is about to sacrifice his
relationship with his loved one and plunge into the
cauldron of violence associated with the 1798 rebellion
in Ireland. The references to barley in the song derive
from the fact that the rebels often carried barley or
oats in their pockets as provisions for when on the
march.
SHEET MUSIC