"Out in the Fields" is a song by Irish musicians Gary Moore and

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...

, who had previously been bandmates in

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...

. Written by Moore and released as a single in 1985, the song was also featured on his album '' Run for Cover'' in the same year. It is about

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The song performed well commercially, reaching No.3 in the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

and No.5 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, making it the highest-charting single for both of the performers. "Out in the Fields" was also one of the last recordings made by Phil Lynott before his death on 4 January 1986.

Track listings

7" vinyl 7" vinyl double pack (limited edition) * UK: 10 Records / TEN 49 12" vinyl

Personnel

; Out in the Fields * Gary Moore – guitars, lead vocals *

– lead vocals, bass * Andy Richards – keyboards * Don Airey – keyboards * Charlie Morgan – drums and electronic drums

Chart performance

Cover versions

The song has been covered by multiple artists, including

Riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

(on ''

The Brethren of the Long House ''The Brethren of the Long House'' is Riot's ninth studio album. It was first released in Japan on November 11, 1995, in Germany in 1996, and eventually in the United States in 1999. The album is dedicated to the lost culture of American India ...

'', 1996),

Dark at Dawn Dark at Dawn is a power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, an ...

(on ''Crimson Frost'', 2001),

Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Sche ...

(on ''

Heavy Hitters ''Heavy Hitters'' is a 2005 album of cover songs by the Michael Schenker Group. Originally planned by Schenker as a collection of covers featuring himself and a "revolving all-star cast of guest musicians," the album was labeled and marketed ...

'', 2005), Supreme Majesty (on ''Elements of Creation'', 2005), Primal Fear (on ''

Metal Is Forever - The Very Best of Primal Fear A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

'', 2006),

Sonata Arctica Sonata Arctica is a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, Finland. Created as a hard rock band named Tricky Beans, they later changed to Tricky Means and finally to Sonata Arctica, when they shifted to power metal. The current lineup c ...

(as the B-side to " Paid in Full", 2007),

Timo Kotipelto Timo Antero Kotipelto (born 15 March 1969) is a Finnish musician best known as the lead singer of the power metal band Stratovarius, whom he joined in 1994, as well as fronting his own band Kotipelto. Biography He studied vocals at the pop/ja ...

Jani Liimatainen Jani Allan Kristian Liimatainen (born 9 September 1980) is a Finnish musician, songwriter and backing vocalist, currently a member of melodic death metal band Insomnium. He is the former guitarist and one of the founding members of the power m ...

(on ''

Blackoustic ''Blackoustic'' is a collaborative acoustic album by Stratovarius and Cain's Offering vocalist Timo Kotipelto and ex-Sonata Arctica and Cain's Offering guitarist Jani Liimatainen (credited as Kotipelto & Liimatainen). The album was released on O ...

'', 2012), Iron Mask (on ''V/A - Give Us Moore!: A Tribute to Gary Moore'', 2004),

Powerwolf Powerwolf, often stylized as POWERWOLF, is a German power metal band founded in 2003 in Saarbrücken by members of Red Aim. The band consists of vocalist Karsten Brill as "Attila Dorn", lead guitarist Benjamin Buss as "Matthew Greywolf", bassist/ ...

(on ''

Metallum Nostrum ''Metallum Nostrum'' is a cover album by German power metal band Powerwolf, originally released on 17 July 2015 as a bonus disc to ''Blessed & Possessed''. It was re-released separately on 11 January 2019. Track listing Personnel Musicians ...

'', bonus disc to '' Blessed & Possessed'', 2015), Black Majesty (on ''Cross of Thorns'', 2015) and Mono Inc. (on ''Together Till the End'', 2017),
KiXX (band), 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Out In The Fields (Song) 1985 singles Songs written by Gary Moore Gary Moore songs Phil Lynott songs British heavy metal songs Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer) Songs about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) 1985 songs