The girl i left behind me — Mandolin Tab

Mandolin tab and sheet music with synced audio · Key of G · 120 BPM · 4/4 time · Folk-English · Beginner

Chords used in this arrangement: G, C, D, A, D7.

The girl i left behind me almost certainly traces back to an old Irish air called An Spailpín Fánach, meaning "The Wandering Labourer," and British regiments had claimed it as a marching tune by the late 18th century, played whenever troops shipped out or left town. In fact, Edward Bunting, who collected it from an elderly Irish harper in 1800, noted it had already been played "for the last fifty years by the fifes and drums of different regiments." Both Union and Confederate bands played it during the Civil War with their own rival lyrics, and Bugs Bunny famously plays it on a carrot-fife at the end of a 1940 cartoon.

This page includes mandolin tablature, standard music notation, and a chord chart — printable as PDF and playable in sync with the original recording. Change the key, slow the tempo down, and loop the bars you want to practise.