Today I’d like to share with you a song by a singer whom I first heard only last Friday, despite she seems to have been a thing for a long time. Maybe it’s because I guess I’m generally less familiar with American Celtic music scene vs Irish or British. Amelia Hogan is an Irish American from San Francisco, though she also has Scottish and British ancestry, and she has been drawn to Sean-Nos singing and to Celtic music in general since a very young age. This song comes from her debut solo album Transplants. I’ve already shared two versions of this song one by Órla Fallon and the other by Eilis Kennedy. I really like it because it reminds me of our Sofi, who liked the funny lilting chorus when she was a toddler. 😀
For today I have a song by Clannad for you, which you may know even if you’re not a big Clannad fan because it is the theme song of the movie Braveheart. Below is the translation of the Irish lyrics that I found here.
Today, I want to share with you Órla Fallon’s ethereal version of this very popular Irish folk ballad. This is, as you may recall, not the first version of Siúil a Rún that I’m sharing on here, the first one I featured was by Anúna and in that post I also shared a bit about this song’s background. Others were by Celtic Woman and Clannad. Órla Fallon actually used to be a member of both Anúna and Celtic Woman, and is particularly well-known from the latter. Her rendition of this song comes from her debut solo album The Water is Wide from 2005.
Last year, I shared with you Pilot, the first song by Lucy Blue that I heard and that I instantly liked. I’ve been listening to this Irish artist ever since. I like her personal songwriting, and I like how “blue” overall her music is. So I thought I’d share another song by her, one that just came out earlier this month. About nostalgia for home, and how you miss it and want to come back even though you’d always thought you wanted to leave. There’s even a line in Irish, which makes it feel all the more authentic to me.
For today, I’d like to share with you a song from the famous Irish all-female group Celtic Woman, whose music I’ve enjoyed for years and have shared a few of their songs on here already. This one comes from their album Ancient Land. Mná na hÉireann is actually a 18th-century poem, written by Ulster poet Peadar Ó Doirnín, but it was later set to an air composed by Seán Ó Riada another of whose compositions, Mo Ghile Mear,, sung by a former Celtic Woman member, I’ve featured on here before. Women of Ireland has been performed by all kinds of musical artists, not even just Irish ones. I believe the first one I heard was by Mike Oldfield when I was a kid, others include Sinéad O’connor, Kate Bush or Jeff Beck. A lot of such old Irish poems personify Ireland, whether as a mother or a goddess, or, as is the case here, as a beautiful woman who is mistreated by the English and the Irishmen need to defend her, though are not always successful at it. Here, the lyrical subject is also mutually in love with the woman in question. As you may know, I myself don’t speak Irish (yet), so couldn’t write a translation, but there is an article about it on Wikipedia which contains several different translation of this song. At the time of releasing Ancient Land, Celtic Woman consisted of Eabha McMahon, Mairead Carlin, Megan Walsh and Tara McNeill, the latter also playing the violin and harp.
Keeping my promise from yesterday, here’s the second song from Eithne ní Uallacháin’s album Bilingua, my most exciting music discovery of the year so far. Like yesterday’s song, it’s in what’s called macaronic form – two languages mixed together – but it’s a traditional tune. As far as I know, the English version came first and the Irish translation was written later. But regardless of which came first, they are of course poetic rather than literal translations of each other, so there are differences between them, though I don’t speak Irish (yet), so I can’t write a direct translation of the Irish lyrics and haven’t found such a direct translation anywhere. Google Translate claims that the Irish title means something like “I am Tired/Sick of Being Alone in My Bed”, but I’ve stuck with the poetic translation of that line in the post title in case Google was wrong.
I first heard a version of this song by The Unthanks, and I liked it, because I like The Unthanks in general, but it didn’t make a lasting impression on me or anything. But when I heard Eithne’s version for the first time last week, it really affected my brain (well, just like the whole album, but I think this is one of its highlights for me), and I immediately thought that this song is just meant to be sung exactly the way she does, and with an Irish accent, or better yet, in Irish! As you can hear for yourselves, it is very minimalistic in form – just Eithne’s fragile, yet as always, almost eerily expressive vocals with very spare and gentle instrumentation. – It is so beautiful in that bittersweet way that makes you feel like you want it to never end, while at the same time twisting your soul and making it fall apart into aching but ecstatic pieces. And since it’s really two songs in one, it’s over six minutes of this gentle, blissful torture.
The song I have for you today is from an album that, although recorded over 20 years ago, and released almost a decade ago, is very new to me, and even though it’s only the beginning of February, I feel very confident in saying that this is probably going to be one of my most exciting musical discoveries of the year. And not just the album, but also the artist behind it – Eithne ní Uallacháin. – Maybe there’s even some minor faza going on at this point, because I only came across Bilingua (that’s the name of the whole album) last Friday, and have now listened through the entire thing five times, not counting the number of times I’ve listened to individual tracks and other recordings by Eithne ní Uallacháin. It’s strange that, although I’ve been exploring Celtic music for years, it’s taken me so long to come across Eithne and her music, even though she is a very important figure on the folk music scene of Ireland. But apparently there is a right time for everything, so perhaps this was just the right time for me to discover her and appreciate her music as it deserves to be appreciated, perhaps if I’d come across it earlier, it wouldn’t have made as strong an impression on me as it did.
Eithne ní Uallacháin was born in Ballina in 1957. She grew up in an Irish-speaking and musical family as her father was a collector of songs from the Oriel area in Ulster and encouraged both Eithne and her sister to sing. She married fiddle player Gerry O’Connor, who was also her long-time musical partner, and together they formed a duo called Lá Lugh. Eithne was not only a very competent and expressive singer of traditional Irish songs, but she also wrote her own songs, and was not afraid to experiment with music, mixing old melodies with her own words or vice versa, and she sang in English and Irish. She also played the flute. In 1998 she began recording material for a solo album. At the same time, she was struggling with severe depression, which, if I understand correctly, was a result of, or in any case accompanied by, a debilitating physical illness. A year later Eithne very sadly took her own life. All the recordings of her vocals had been completed by that time. From then on, it was Eithne’s son, Dónal O’Connor, who worked on Bilingua , together with her producer Shaun “Mudd” Wallace. However, there were some contractual problems along the way, which is why it was only released in 2014, after fifteen years. It ended up receiving lots of positive attention from various media, both English and Irish.
The whole record is an absolute treat. It’s full of emotions and features influences from various other countries’ traditional music, such as Breton (thanks to guitarist Gilles le Bigot who also worked with Eithne on her earlier albums) Scandinavian or African. As I’ve said before, Eithne is an extremely expressive singer, which is something I always appreciate in folk music. There’s a fair bit of language play here, as Eithne smoothly switches between Irish and English, and sometimes into Latin. I like every single song on this record, which is why I had a bit of a hard time picking something, and why in the end I decided that tomorrow I am going to share one more song from this album, just so I don’t have to limit myself to one. 😀 For the first one, I chose the opening, tribal-sounding track, from which the whole album took its name. To me, it almost sounds like a tribute to language in general, which really appeals to the voracious linguaphile in me. I love all this energy flowing through it that sounds almost euphoric.
Today I ant to share a really cheerful, happy Irish folk song with y’all, sung by a former Celtic Woman member, Órla Fallon, a singer and harpist whose music I’ve shared on here several times already and whom I really like. This is also my favourite version of this song of those that I’m familiar with, although it’s a really cool song in general. The translation below comes from this website.
The sheep are eating the corn
The calves are drinking the milk
The potatoes are unsold
You senseless man Will you not go home! Siobhan is a fine young girl In her new dress down from the shop
I gaze at my golden guinea Spinning on the table
And my temper rises Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s here Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s morning Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s with us
She has spoken and I must leave here Don’t send me out into the dark
The night is cold and I’ll be perished
Stay inside with me a while And drink my fill until the morning Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s here Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s morning Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s with us
She has spoken and I must leave here Oh I go up and I go down
I try my luck with the tavern lady
I throw a guinea on the table And drink my fill until the morning Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s here Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s morning Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s with us
She has spoken and I must leave here I left my shoes in the house of ale
I left my stockings there as well
The cocks have all begun to crow
And I am forced to leave for home Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s here Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s morning Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s with us
She has spoken and I must leave here Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s here Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s morning Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s with us
She has spoken and I must leave here Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s here Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s morning Daybreak has not yet come – but now it’s with us
Today I have for you a beautiful and sad traditional Irish song, which I believe I first heard sung by Órla Fallon, whose version is also lovely. This song is about a mother of two children – Maire and Padraig, or Mary and Patrick in English – who was a mermaid or apparently in some versions she is a selkie, and who really longed for the sea, but her cloak that she put on to shapeshift into a mermaid was hidden somewhere. One day, her children discovered it near the sea, and then their mother swam away. I got the translation from here.
It seems that you have faded away and abandoned the love of life The snow is spread about at the mouth of the sea Your yellow flowing hair and little gentle mouth We give you Mary Chinidh to swim forever in the Erne My dear mother, said blonde Mary By the edge of the shore and the mouth of the sea A mermaid is my noble mother We give you Mary Chinidh to swim forever in the Erne I am tired and will be forever My fair Mary and my blond Patrick On top of the waves and by the mouth of the sea We give you Mary Chinidh to swim forever in the Erne The night is dark and the wind is high The Plough can be seen high in the sky But on top of the waves and by the mouth of the sea We give you Mary Chinidh to swim forever in the Erne
And for today, I have this funny little traditional Irish tune for y’all which has been recorded multiple times by Clannad. In this song, the father is teasing a girl called Mary, who must have looked a few times too many at some piper, perhaps when they met at some sort of people gathering, and she tells her that she should marry him, which she isn’t keen on. The lyrics below come from my favourite Celtic music resource which is Celtic lyrics Corner.
Go home with you, go home with you
Go home with you, Mary
Go home with you and stay at home Because your match is made
It doesn’t matter who made it or who didn’t
It doesn’t matter who made it, Mary
It doesn’t matter who made it or who didn’t
Because your match is made
It doesn’t matter who made it or who didn’t It doesn’t matter who made it, Mary
It doesn’t matter who made it or who didn’t
Because your match is made
Marry the piper, marry the piper Marry the piper, Mary
Marry the piper early at night
And you’ll have him in the morning
Your match is, my match isn’t Your match is made My match isn’t, your match is My match isn’t made
My match isn’t, your match is My match isn’t made Your match is, my match isn’t Your match is made
Today I have for you a traditional Irish song performed by Clannad, from the earlier years of their career. In the Wikipedia article about this song it’s translated as As I Went Down to the Harbour, but I decided to go with the title translation provided in the lyrics of the Clannad song for the title of this post. It is very possible that the Wurlitzer is played by Enya, who was still with the band when they were recording Crann Ull – the album from which this song comes – as keyboardist and backing vocalist, although it’s not explicitly stated anywhere that it’s her. The lyrics below come from Celtic Lyrics Corner.
I walked down by the sea Right wearily My heart, it was tormented From a northern sky the small clouds did fly And sorely I lamented
I’m sorry now I swear That I didn’t care To heed my mother’s caution She spoke to me fair saying don’t venture there Don’t go the road to Ballyhaunis
Yet dearly did I love My fair-haired girl In the garden that morning early Your lips as tender as the foam on the ocean’s rim And cheeks like red haw-berries
I put my arm around your waist But my mind knew no ease Though the small birds sang so gaily I wished we were going under white sails blowing Be it fair or stormy weather
My own heart’s dear If you’d come away To that land of ships from Ireland There’s no heartache nor there’s no pain That wouldn’t find a cure for certain
You are the one I’ve always loved So save me now from dying For without God’s grace I’ll never survive On this street in Ballyhaunis
Today I have a little nursery rhyme for you from the Irish singer and harpist Órla Fallon whom I really like. Órla is a soloist who is also known for previously being part of the very popular Irish group Celtic WOman. This little Irish Gaelic song is apparently frequently taught to children and it originates in Donegal. The translation below comes from Wikipedia.
Felimi’s little boat went to Gola, Felimi’s little boat and Felimi in it. Felimi’s little boat went to Gola, Felimi’s little boat and Felimi in it. A tiny boat, a lively boat, A charming boat, Felimi’s little boat. A straight boat, a willing boat, Felimi’s little boat and Felimi in it. Felimi’s little boat went to Tory, Felimi’s little boat and Felimi in it. Felimi’s little boat went to Tory Felimi’s little boat and Felimi in it. Felimi’s little boat broke on Tory, Felimi’s little boat and Felimi in it. Felimi’s little boat broke on Tory, Felimi’s little boat and Felimi in it. Felimi’s little boat broke on Tory, Fish on board and Felimi in it. Felimi’s little boat broke on Tory, Fish on board and Felimi in it.
Staying in the world of Welsh harp music, I’d like to share with you a piece played by the Welsh Celtic and triple harpist Nansi Richards, also known as Telynores Maldwyn. As its title says, this is a traditional Irish reel.
Today let’s listen to a cheerful tune, a sort of drinking song I guess we could call it, from Clannad’s live album from Bremen. I’ve found a lot of crappy translations of this, and one that seems reliable which comes from here.
When I die, don’t bury me, but take me to the alehouse. I’d rather listen to the beat of drinking mugs than to the sweet music of the cuckoo. So fill to us the little jug and keep it full.
There is a girl in this village as lovely as you’ll find anywhere … so fill the jug …
Will come and will you stay, Dónal, and have you drunk enough?. I’ll come, not stay, and I’ll have a lovely girl if she takes my advice, so fill the jug …
This is a great town … and wouldn’t it be a good place for a young woman to dwell in, even for just a quarter of a year, so fill the jug …
For today I have for you a delightfully long medley of various Irish folk tunes played by a harpist from Southern California, who is also a harp teacher and plays several other instruments.
For today I chose to share with you this Irish folk song, which is quite modern as we know it in its current form, but whose origins actually go back to the 18th century. It was composed in 1972-ish by Dónal Ó Liatháin with lyrics partially based on several Jacobite poems written by Seán “Clárach” MacDomhnaill and set to a tune collected by the composer Seán Ó Riada from a man called Domhnall Ó Buachalla from Cúil Aodha in Cork. One of the original poems on which this song is based (whose title translates to MY Heart is Sore With Sorrow Deep in English) is written in the voice of Éire – the personification and goddess of Ireland – lamenting the failure of the Jacobite rising of 1745 and the exile of Charles Edward Stuart or Bonnie Prince Charlie. The other one (known as Over the Hills and Far Away in English) was written during the Jacobite rising of 1715, with the lamented hero this time being James Francis Edward Stuart.Ó Liatháin decided to pick the least explicitly Jacobite-sounding verses from both poems, and because he composed it a year after Ó Riada’s – the aforementioned collector of the original tune – death, this new song was created as a lament for his death.
I’ve already shared several songs by Órla Fallon so I guess she doesn’t need a special introduction on here, but for those who don’t know she’s an Irish singer and Celtic harpist who used to be a member of the Irish all-female group Celtic Woman (who also did their version of this song, by the way) and has released several great solo albums since leaving the group.
The translation i Found has “mo ghile mear” as “my dashing darling”, but it seems to be known more widely as “gallant” rather than “dashing” so that’s why I put “gallant” in the post title.
My dashing darling is my hero He’s my Caesar, a dashing darling, I’ve got no rest and no pleasure Since my dashing darling went to a distant land.
I’m incessantly sorrowing each day, Lamenting sorely and showing signs of tears As the lively lad has been separated from me And no news from him is told, my sadness.
My dashing darling is my hero He’s my Caesar, a dashing darling, I’ve got no rest and no pleasure Since my dashing darling went to a distant land.
My dashing darling is my hero He’s my Caesar, a dashing darling, I’ve got no rest and no pleasure Since my dashing darling went to a distant land.
Let a story be sung on tuneful harps and let lots of quarts be filled on the table with high spirits faultless and unclouded to find life and good health for my lion1
My dashing darling is my hero He’s my Caesar, a dashing darling, I’ve got no rest and no pleasure Since my dashing darling went to a distant land.
So I’ve shared two versions of this extremely popular Irish song with you this year so far, and I thought today I could share with you another one, from Clannad. I guess this version is also quite well-known and well-liked due to Clannad’s fame. I really like Maire Brennan’s vocals in this song, she usually tends to sing in the higher register, but I definitely prefer her when she sings a bit lower and that’s what she does here. I already wrote a bit on the song itself when sharing the version by Anuna so I recommend you see that post as well if you haven’t and if you’re interested in the origins of it, also their song is definitely worth listening to just as well.
Today I have a Christian hamn for you, performed by Maire/Moya Brennan, known as the lead singer and harpist of Clannad, or as one of Enya’s many siblings, who has also had a very fruitful solo career, which most of you probably already know well since I’ve already shared a lot of her solo music in the past. Maire is very open about being a Christiann and a lot of her solo music revolves more or less closely around Christian themes. This as far as I know is not some traditional hymn but something she wrote herself/was written for her specifically. It was recorded together with the choir that has been directed for many years by her mother, known as “Baba” Brennan. The translation of the Irish lyrics comes from here.
Now show me my way Take care of me Lord Every day and night Listen to my prayer God
You gave me hope inside You listened to me when I was down You are faithful and merciful Fill me with your Spirit forever I will play for your glory And the angels in the presence of God
Guide my life now in the Fill up my heart with great love You are the King You made heaven and earth | You put peace in my heart You brighten my life with joy I’ll play the harp for you I will praise You for my life
Now show me my way Take care of me Lord Every day and night Listen to my prayer God
Guide my life now in the Fill up my heart with great love You are the King You made heaven and earth
Last month, I showed you the traditional and very frequently sung by all sorts of folk singers Irish tune called Siúil A Rúin by the famous Irish choral ensemble called Anúna. In that post I also explained a bit about the origins and background of the song. Today, I thought I’d share another version of this song, with a bit different lyrics, also from a probably even more popular Irish group that is Celtic Woman. Celtic Woman have actually recorded several different versions of this song, which is not uncommon for them since their line-up has changed a whole lot so they often re-make their old songs with new members. While it is undoubtedly the older version from their debut album, with Órla Fallon on vocals, that is more widely known and recognisable, today I chose to share with you the newer version, with Eabha McMahon as the vocalist. I can’t say which one I like more, but I chose this one because it has a more rootsy vibe and also I’ve already shared a lot of Órla’s music on here, while only one song with Eabha on vocals. As it happens, Eabha was also a member of Anúna as a young girl before she joined Celtic Woman.
Since this song is about a woman’s sorrow because of her lover departing to enlist in the army, listening to this song in this awful time gives me a really strange feeling and makes me see it from a different perspective, as I can’t help but think about all the Ukrainian women, also those many women who have fled here to Poland alone or with children while their men are fighting. Except I guess they have it a lot worse than this Irish lady from the song, because they not only must miss their men and wish to be with them but also worry about their lives, which she doesn’t seem to be concerned about so I guess he’s not actually fighting in a war, just simply chose a military career or something like that.
For today, I have a medley of Irish traditional tunes for you, by Órla Fallon, Irish singer and harpist who is well-known in the Celtic music world both for her solo music and being a member of Celtic Woman, and whose music I’ve shared on here many times before. Speaking of Celtic Woman, they have also recorded their version of the first song in this medley, Bean Pháidín, and their version was the first one I heard. As you’ll be able to figure out from the translation of the lyrics, it is a song of a woman who is in love with a guy called Páidín and is very jealous of his wife, wishing that it could have been her – the lyrical subject of the song – who could be his wife. The second piece is a slip jig, apparently of Scottish origin.
It’s a pity that I am not, that I am not It’s a pity that I am not Páidín’s wife It’s a pity that I am not, that I am not And the woman he has is dead
I would go to Galway, to Galway I would go to Galway with Páidín I would go to Galway, to Galway would return home with him in the boat
I would go to the Clifden market And into Bal th in the Bay I would look in through the windows Hoping to see Páidín’s wife
May you break your legs, your legs May you break your legs, Páidín’s wife May you break your legs, your legs May you break your legs and your bones
I wore out my shoes, my shoes I wore out my shoes chasing Páidín I wore out my shoes, my shoes wore out the soles and the heels
My Inner MishMash 