The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #14957   Message #2164912
Posted By: GUEST,Ella
06-Oct-07 - 01:43 AM
Thread Name: Origins: Donal Og (Young Donald)
Subject: RE: 'The Dead'
GUEST, Polly;

The man reciting the poem in 'The Dead' is not gabreil. Gabriel is looking on. the verses the other man says are:

It is late last night the dog was speaking of you;
the snipe was speaking of you in her deep marsh.
It is you are the lonely bird through the woods;
and that you may be without a mate until you find me.

You promised me, and you said a lie to me,
that you would be before me where the sheep are flocked;
I gave a whistle and three hundred cries to you,
and I found nothing there but a bleating lamb.

You promised me a thing that was hard for you,
a ship of gold under a silver mast;
twelve towns with a market in all of them,
and a fine white court by the side of the sea.

You promised me a thing that is not possible,
that you would give me gloves of the skin of a fish;
that you would give me shoes of the skin of a bird;
and a suit of the dearest silk in Ireland.

My mother said to me not to be talking with you today,
or tomorrow, or on the Sunday;
it was a bad time she took for telling me that;
it was shutting the door after the house was robbed.

You have taken the east from me; you have taken the west from me;
you have taken what is before me and what is behind me;
you have taken the moon, you have taken the sun from me;
and my fear is great that you have taken God from me!

I'm watching 'The Dead' right now and I'd really liketo fidn the Gaelic version of these precuise lyrics;they're my favourite arrangement of 'Donal Og'. If anyone knows them pleace contact me on undomielwen@hotmail.com.

-Ella