The Pogues - The Recruiting Sergeant: Ukulele Chords

Learn to play "The Recruiting Sergeant" on your ukulele with our detailed chord guide and lyrics. This page provides everything you need to play this song on the ukulele, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

Learn The Recruiting Sergeant ukulele chords and lyrics

This section will guide you through each part of the song, providing the ukulele chords placed directly above the lyrics for easy playing. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced player, these elements will help you perform "The Recruiting Sergeant" smoothly on your ukulele.

 Em                                G
As I was walking down the road, a-feeling
          D
fine and larkey, oh
   Em                                 G
A recruiting sargeant came up to me, says he,
                     D     Em
"You'd look fine in khaki, oh
        Em
For the King, he is in need of men,
      G               D
come read this proclamation, oh
   Em                                  G
A life in Flanders for you then would be
        D        Em
a fine vacation, oh."

"That may be so," says I to him
"But tell me, sergeant dearie-oh
If I had a pack stuck upon my back
Would I look fine and cheerie oh?
For they'd have you train and drill until
They had you one of the Frenchies, oh
It may be warm in Flanders
But it's draughty in the trenches, oh"

The sergeant smiled and winked his eye
His smile was most provoking, oh
He twiddled and twirled his wee mustache
Says he, "You're only joking, oh
For the sandbags are so warm and high
The wind you won't feel blowing, oh
Well, I winked at a cailin passing by
Says I, "What if it's snowing, oh?"

Come rain or hail or wind or snow
I'm not going out to Flanders, oh
There's fighting in Dublin to be done
Let your sergeants and your commanders go
Let Englishmen fight English wars
It's nearly time they started, oh
I saluted the sergeant a very good night
And there and then we parted, oh

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Ukulele Chord Diagrams

D

Ukulele chord D

Em

Ukulele chord Em

G

Ukulele chord G

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each ukulele chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "The Recruiting Sergeant" on the guitar, check out the chords on our sister site: Guitar Chords for "The Recruiting Sergeant" by The Pogues.

The Pogues Song List