Arthur McBride facts for kids

Arthur McBride (also known as Arthur McBride and the Sergeant) is a famous Irish folk song. It's a type of song called an "anti-recruiting" song. This means it's against people joining the army. It's also a kind of anti-war song and a protest song. You can find different versions of this song in Ireland and Britain.

Popular Recordings of Arthur McBride

Many musicians have recorded "Arthur McBride." Some well-known artists include Planxty, Andy Irvine, Dave Swarbrick, Martin Carthy, and Paul Brady. Even Bob Dylan recorded it on his 1992 album Good as I Been to You.

Most artists today learned "Arthur McBride" from Irish and UK recordings. The band Planxty helped make the song popular again with their 1973 album, Planxty.

Paul Brady's Version

Paul Brady's 1977 recording is special because it has different words and more verses than other versions. Brady is from Strabane in County Tyrone, Ireland. Interestingly, he didn't hear the song in Ireland. He found it in America in 1972 while working there. He got a book called A Heritage of Songs by Carrie Grover, and "Arthur McBride" was in it.

Brady started performing his eight-verse version of the song. He used a special guitar style called Open G tuning. His version even includes the Irish word spailpín. This word means a "wandering farm worker" or sometimes a "rascal."

Arthur McBride in Film

The story from the song "Arthur McBride" was made into a short film called Christmas Morning in 1978.