Hey people! 🙂
For today I have a song by Rachel Newton for you all. She is a Scottish singer and harpist whose music has already been featured on my blog several times. This is a traditional song, as far as I’m aware, and comes from her album called West.
Hi people! 🙂
Today I’d like to share with you a Scottish Gaelic lament, or lullaby, sung by an Irish singer who lives in the US. I think I have shared three songs by Aine Minogue on my blog so far and surely must have mentioned how she was one of my most favourite Celtic folk singers and harpists when I was a teenager. I still like her a lot, and this has always been one of my favourite songs by her. Generally, this song has a very interesting melody in my opinion, and I like most versions of it that I’ve heard.
It was written in the 16th century by a woman called Mór Chaimbeull after the death of her husband, the chief of the Clan Mac Gregor, Griogair Ruadh Mac Griogair, or Gregor the Red Mac Gregor in English who was executed at Taymouth Castle.
Here’s the translation of this song:
Many a night both wet and dry
Weather of the seven elements
Gregor would find for me a rocky shelter
Which I would take eagerly.
Obhan, Obhan, Obhan iri
Obhan iri O!
Obhan Obhan Obhan iri,
Great is my sorrow, great.
I climbed into the upper chamber
And lay upon the floor
And I would not find my dearest Gregor
At the table in his place.
Great darling of the World’s people
They spilt your blood yesterday
And they put your head on an oaken stake
Near where your body lay.
Though now I have no apples,
And others have them all,
My own apple, fragrant, handsome –
And the back of his head on the ground.
I would be glad to be with dear Gregor
Guarding cattle in the glen
Instead of with the great Baron of Dalach,
White silk around my head.
While the young wives of the town
Serenely sleep tonight
I will be at the edge of your gravestone
Beating my two hands.
This Scottish piece is most known as the theme song for Rob Roy, in which it was sung by Scottish singer Karen Matheson, who is also known as the vocalist of Capercaillie whose music I’ve previously shared on here. I, however, at least for now, decided to share with you a cover of that Rob Roy version, sung by Méav ni Mhaolchatha, an Irish soprano who feels at home both with folk as well as classical music. She’s also known for being a former member of the Irish all-female group Celtic Woman. As for the song, it is a lament written by Annag Chaimbeul for her fiancée Ailean Moireasdan, who was a sea captain in the 18th century. He was going to be engaged to ANnag in Scalpay, and was sailing there from Stornoway, but was caught in a storm on his way, which ended up tragically as both him and the entire crew sank. After that, Annag no longer wanted to live and died a few months later. There was not enough soil on Scalpay to bury her there, so her father took her coffin to the near island of Harris. However, on his way there, the storm blew Annag’s coffin off his boat and it ended up on Scalpay near her fiancée anyway.
Hey people! 🙂
Today, let’s listen to another piece from this great Scottish harpist and singer, in Scottish Gaelic. This is a really interesting traditional love song from a female perspective. I’ve found a translation of it, which I’ll share below as usual, but if you like this sort of thing or are intrigued by something in the lyrics, I highly recommend you go visit
and read the notes below the translation as there are plenty of little geeky linguistic bits explained about the lyrics.
You are my love and I’ll never deny it
When I was a green young girl
I fell in love with the young man
who had the handsome appearance;
and I will never love another
I went into the forest of trees and branches
and took an interest in a lovely sapling
it is in Glasgow of the shops
that I fell in love with the manly handsome lad.
The most capable fingers that could write with a pen
or tune the strings of a violin;
it is your music that would lift my spirits
when I was ] weary and melancholy
Your beautiful splendid curly locks,
the hair of your head is like the black-bird’s feather;
your two cheeks are the colour of roses
when the dew of the moring’s mist is on them
Your legs are strong and shapely
like a salmon in a crystal clear stream
and it’s absolutely true that I’ve given my love to you
amongst all the people that are in the world.
But I hope and expect
that the day will come when we will be together;
and if you are faithful to me
I shall love no other while I live.
Hey people! 🙂
Time for some Scottish Gaelic! This song comes from young Glasgow singer Maeve Mackinnon (apparently there are actually two Scottish singers called Maeve Mackinnon). Interestingly, she is not actually a Gaelic native speaker, she only learned it as an adult, but has had an interest in the language and music of her home country from an early age and was in contact with it a lot. I’ve also read that she has some Swedish heritage. I’m pretty sure that this song is traditional, although I have no idea what the title of it means and haven’t found any reliable translation of the lyrics.
Hey guys! 🙂
Today I want to share with you a Scottish Gaelic song from a great harpist and singer Rachel Newton, who has already been featured on my blog a couple times. This is what’s called a waulking song. Waulking songs in Scottish folk music are songs which used to be sung by women while fulling the cloth, which in Scots is called waulking. Originally, they were accompanied by rhythmic beating of the cloth against the table or something which they did to soften it up, so that’s why these songs always have a strong beat. I don’t speak Scottish Gaelic, not yet at least, but this song was featured in The Rough Guide to Scottish Folk and there it is translated as I Am Full Of Sorrow.
Hi people. 🙂
Here’s another song from Julie Fowlis, also from her latest album, but this time in Scottish Gaelic.
My Inner MishMash 