YouTube: Skara Brae songs

Subject: Tune Add: Skara Brae
From: Nickhere
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 05:57 PM

Just thought all'd be interested to know of some Skara Brae songs that can be listened to on Youtube:

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qRGxzXauhs&feature=related

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7mkca4e-y4&feature=related

The vids aren't great, but it's the melody that's of interest anyway. Couldn't find any vids of Skara Brae actually performing, but who knows, there must be soem out there!

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Nickhere
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 09:32 PM

Of course I'd have made it a bit easier if I'd just made two clickies instead of text links, but brain's not working tonight (-(

here goes -

Skara Brae - An Cailin Rua

and

Skara Brae - Ardai Cuain

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Beer
Date: 20 Jan 08 - 09:55 PM

Didn't understand one single word. But both videos were beautiful. The second one was my favorite along with the great pictures. Gaelic is a very romantic and melancholy language. They could be cursing for all I know but I truly enjoyed it.
Thanks.
Beer (adrien)

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Santa
Date: 21 Jan 08 - 08:15 AM

Silly me, I thought you meant songs from/about the place, not the name of a group. Shouldn't they be singing in Norn rather than any Celtic dialect?

Wonderful place, well worth a visit.

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Brendy
Date: 21 Jan 08 - 10:30 AM

"Shouldn't they be singing in Norn rather than any Celtic dialect?"

?

B.

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: GUEST,Sue
Date: 21 Jan 08 - 08:45 PM

Ardai Cuain - wow, what a beautiful song. Does anyone have the gaelic and translation?

Sue

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Don Firth
Date: 21 Jan 08 - 09:02 PM

Orkney. Land of my ancestors!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Santa
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 06:55 AM

Brendy: the Viking invasion of Orkney eliminated the Celtic population (at least, presumably, the male elements). My understanding is that only one place name with Celtic roots survived on Orkney. Considerably less than the number surviving even in Northern England. The language of Orkney remained Norse, the local variety known as Norn, until recent centuries, when it was replaced by Scots (or English) not Gaelic.

I don't doubt that travellers from the Highlands and Western Isles will have ensured that Gaelic language and music remained known on Orkney up to fairly modern times. But for a band from the Northern Islands, the Gaelic language is not "their" genuine "roots"/traditional source. However, that was only meant as a light-hearted aside, not to cast any aspersions against the music.

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Megan L
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 07:47 AM

Gaelic was never part of the Orkney tradition. pretty songs but they are an Irish group why Skara Brae.

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Brendy
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 08:40 AM

You take pedantry to new heights, Santa.

B.

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: MartinRyan
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 05:51 PM

GUEST Sue,

There've been a few threads about that song - Try this one

Regards

p.s. I don't recall how the O'Domhnaills chose the name. I visited the place about ten years ago during the course of a monumental (sorry!) tare ..... but that's another story!

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 07:07 PM

Adrien, me, too. I don't care what they are singing in, both were lovely!

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Nerd
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 11:17 PM

To reiterate Megan L's point, and to clarify for Santa, they aren't a band from the northern Islands. They were from Ireland, with roots in the Ulster dialect of Gaelic as spoken in Donegal.

I spoke with Daithi about the group once, and as I remember it, he said the group was not originally an Irish-language folk group. They simply did whatever appealed to them, a lot of it pop music in acoustic versions. So the name was just selected as a "cool band name."

They ended up concentrating on the Gaelic songs because

1) they loved those songs

2) no one else was doing that kind of arrangement with Irish language songs at the time, and

3)it seemed a good bet for an album.

Since the band never made another album, that's all that survived of the group, and everyone thinks it was a band dedicated to those songs.

The version of "The Death of Queen Jane" later done by the Bothy Band, was arranged by Daithi (who also wrote the tune) for Skara Brae. When Skara Brae broke up, and his former bandmates ended up the Bothies, they asked him to keep using the song.

I should dig up that interview tape and see what else he told me!

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Santa
Date: 23 Jan 08 - 02:44 PM

Oh dear. I can only quote an old saying; if you can't take a joke you shouldn't have joined. Or, it seems, make one.

Thanks, Nerd, clearly I jumped to an unjustified conclusion with the name.

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Nickhere
Date: 27 Jan 08 - 09:32 PM

I just stumbled across another Youtube link to An Chailin Rua, and this one has lyrics both in Gaelic and English, so some of you might be interested in giving it a go. As Nerd above says, Skara Brae sang with a Donegal accent. I'm not a native speaker, but I learned Irish with a more southern accent / dialect and would probably pronounce most of the words differently, but I still really like the Skara Brae sound. I'm just not sure I'd comfortably replicate it.

An Chailin Rua - with lyrics

The main (guitar) chords seem to be -

F Bb F Bb F G C Bb F Dm F Bb G/C

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Brendy
Date: 27 Jan 08 - 09:50 PM

With respect Santa, there have been enough 'light-hearted asides' made around our language to last many millennia.

We have a saying too..., 'Don't knock it if you don't understand it'

I didn't realise, however that you weren't aware that Skara Brae were an Irish band.

'An Cailín Rua' is a great song, though.... Thanks for the link, Nickhere...

B.

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: ard mhacha
Date: 28 Jan 08 - 06:46 AM

Sue if you go to You Tube you will hear Maurenn Hegarty sing an English translation of the song.

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: ard mhacha
Date: 28 Jan 08 - 06:47 AM

Sue,It is translated as "The quiet land of Erin"

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 28 Jan 08 - 12:36 PM

Ard mhacha - thank you. Should that name be Maureen, though? (just to make sure I get the right person!)

Subject: RE: YouTube: Skara Brae songs
From: ard mhacha
Date: 28 Jan 08 - 02:33 PM

Sue, maureenderry will get you to her on You Tube.