Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)

Subject: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: GUEST,hawkes
Date: 18 Mar 13 - 12:32 PM

Does anyone else remember the Alastair McDonald album "Scotland in Song"? I grew up with my mum listening to it, and it has a whole lot of nostalgia for me.

Anyway, one of the tracks on it is called "Mouth Music", and he does explain before hand that it is puirt à beul, but not which song or what it's about. Does anyone know what the specific song is called, and what the lyrics are?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: Jim McLean
Date: 18 Mar 13 - 05:26 PM

Hi Hawkes,
I produced and recorded the LP Scotland in Song, probably in 1972 or thereabouts.
There are two songs joined together. The Gaelic lyrics would take me too long to translate but suffice to say, although these lyrics can be translate, usually waulking songs have no great meaning.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: GUEST,hawkes
Date: 18 Mar 13 - 10:51 PM

Hello Mr McLean,

Thank you for answering my question! Do you mind if I ask which two songs they are? My mum recently took up weaving, and I know that she would love to know.

I have to say - that album has been a favourite with my whole family for a very long time (we still have our very worn cassette of it because none of us could bear to part with it, even though we've all since purchased digital copies). So, from a large number of crazy people, thank you for producing it!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: meself
Date: 19 Mar 13 - 01:08 AM

Is that the LP published under the National Geographic imprimatur? That's one I listened to many, many times ....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: Jim McLean
Date: 19 Mar 13 - 08:07 AM

Sorry, Hawkes, I don't know what they called as they are traditional Gaelic pies of mouth music.
myself, I don't think this album has ever been published under the NG imprimatur. This album has a spoken introduction before each song and includes The Barras, Massacre of Glencoe etc. I wrote these with sound effects over the spoken word. I sold off my NEVIS record collection of master tapes a long time ago so if this sounds like the NG one then maybe another company has reissued it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: GUEST,hawkes
Date: 19 Mar 13 - 10:22 AM

Well, thank you for taking the time to answer anyway!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: meself
Date: 19 Mar 13 - 10:35 AM

"traditional Gaelic pies of mouth music" - yum,yum!

It's been 30 years or more since I was listening to that Nat. Geo. album, but I don't think it would be the same one as yours - I don't remember any spoken intros, etc. But as hawkes says: thanks for responding!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: Jim McLean
Date: 19 Mar 13 - 11:11 AM

Sorry, folks, typo. should have been "pieces" but a Gaelic pie sounds nice!!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: GUEST,Saes
Date: 09 Sep 15 - 05:38 PM

It's been a while since anyone's commented on this post but if there was a way to get the lyrics in Gaelic I'd love to be able to see them.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 09 Sep 15 - 07:16 PM

Have listened to the track on iTunes, and I recognise the second song. Have found lyrics and a translation: a song in praise of the island of Islay: Sann an Ile
I think they are both what you might call "proper songs" not just using nonsense "vocables" as happens in some mouth music (Puirt a beul).

Alastair McDonald is still very much alive and kicking (his energy would put many younger folk to shame!) and is coming to our local folk club in early October, so will ask him about the other song then.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 05:51 PM

Alastair is indeed very much alive and kicking.

I discovered when talking to him at his most recent gig in Leith Folk Club that we had played together as children back in the fifties, when he used to come up from Glasgow during school holidays to stay with Nigel Denver in Nigel's aunt's house in our remote village.

He has probably the widest repertoire of any singer I know.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 05:53 PM

oops ... that was me above ...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: Stewie
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 08:31 PM

I have a CD that appears to be a reissue of the LP. The narrations are given by Findlay Cameron. The mouth music track is described as 'Cota Side Mairi Bhan'.

Track list here: Click

The CD number is: CDITV575.   Scotdisc BGS Productions Pty Ltd Newtown Street Kilsyth, Glasgow G65 OLY.

--Stewie.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Alastair McDonald - Mouth Music
From: Stewie
Date: 10 Sep 15 - 08:53 PM

I found a previous thread on this subject, but no lyrics forthcoming.

Click here

--Stewie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 04 Oct 15 - 08:13 AM

Saw the CD for sale in an Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop! £7.99.
Asked a friend who sings Gaelic songs if she knew the title of the first song, but she didn't. Will send her a link to the iTunes clip to see if that sheds any more light - or ask the man himself next Friday!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 04 Oct 15 - 08:39 AM

Stewie, I think that's another CD! (Alastair has made so many!) The one asked for by the original poster is called "Scotland in Song", not "Songs of Scotland" and the 4th track on that is "Mouth Music", which is what was asked for.
Just had another listen myself to the Mouth Music track: OF COURSE! The first tune is known in English (or Scots) as the Drunken Piper, and here it is in Gaelic, with a very literal translation below:

Far am bi mi fhin
I hope that Hawkes and Saes now pick up on this: as they are Guests I can't pm them!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 04 Oct 15 - 08:48 AM

And a copy/paste job:Far am bi mi fhìn (Where I will be:

Learned from Christine Primrose in the Gaelic Song class at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye in 2008. It is also known as the Drunken Piper.


Far Am Bi Mi Fhìn

Sèist
Far am bi mi fhìn is ann a bhios mo dhòchas
Far am bi mi fhìn is ann a bhios mo dhòchas
Far am bi mi fhìn is ann a bhios mo dhòchas
Far am bi mi fhìn bidh mo dhòchas ann

Théid mi fhìn is Sìne null gu taigh a' phìobair
Théid mi fhìn is Sìne null gu taigh a' phìobair
Théid mi fhìn is Sìne null gu taigh a' phìobair
'S nì sinn brod an ruidhle leinn fhìn air an làr


Sèist

'S mur toir am pìobair port dhuinn airson ruidhle
'S mur toir am pìobair port dhuinn airson ruidhle
'S mur toir am pìobair port dhuinn airson ruidhle
'S ann a bheir sinn sgrìob chun an fhìdhlear bhàn

Sèist

Siubhal air na cladaichean 's a' coiseachd air a' ghainmhich
Siubhal air na cladaichean 's a' coiseachd air a' ghainmhich
Siubhal air na cladaichean 's a' coiseachd air a' ghainmhich
Far am bi mi fhìn bidh mo dhòchas ann

Sèist


Where I will be

Chorus
Where I will be is where my hope lies
Where I will be is where my hope lies
Where I will be is where my hope lies
Where I will be my hope lies

Sheena and I will go to the piper's house
Sheena and I will go to the piper's house
Sheena and I will go to the piper's house
and we will dance a choice reel by ourselves on the floor

Chorus

And if the piper doesn't play us a tune for the reel
And if the piper doesn't play us a tune for the reel
And if the piper doesn't play us a tune for the reel
we'll head off to see the fair fiddler

Chorus

Travelling the shores and walking on the sand
Travelling the shores and walking on the sand
Travelling the shores and walking on the sand
where I will be my hope lies

Chorus


Followed by (hope the formatting works!):

SANN AN ILE


Sèist: Chorus:
'Sann an Ile, Ile, Ile             It's in Islay, Islay, Islay
'Sann an Ile rugadh mi             It's in Islay that I was born
'Sann an Ile, Ile, Ile             It's in Islay, Islay, Islay
'Sann an Ile, bhòidheach          It's in beautiful Islay
'Sann an Ile, Ile, Ile             It's in Islay, Islay, Islay
'Sann an Ile rugadh mi             It's in Islay that I was born
'Sann an Ile, Ile, Ile             It's in Islay, Islay, Islay
'Sann an Ile, bhòidheach            It's in beautiful Islay
   
'Sann an Ile ghorm an fheòir       It's in green Islay of the grass
A rugadh mi's a thogadh mi          That I was born and raised
'Sann an Ile ghorm an fheòir       It's in green Islay of the grass
A rugadh mi 'sa bha mi             That I was born, that I was
'Sann an Ile ghorm an fheòir       It's in green Islay of the grass
A rugadh mi's a thogadh mi          That I was born and raised
'Sann an Ile ghorm an fheòir       It's in green Islay of the grass
A rugadh mi 'sa bha mi             That I was born, that I was
   
Nuair a bha mi ann an Ile          When I was in Islay
Bha Catriona cuide rium             Catriona was with me
Nuair a bha mi ann an Ile          When I was in Islay
Bha Catriona lamh rium             Catriona was by my side
Nuair a bha mi ann an Ile          When I was in Islay
Bha Catriona cuide rium             Catriona was with me
Nuair a bha mi ann an Ile          When I was in Islay
Bha Catriona lamh rium             Catriona was by my side

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 14 Oct 15 - 07:18 PM

Just refreshing this in the hope that those who wanted the lyrics pick them up. I did see Alastair McDonald last weekend, and he did confirm that those are the 2 songs on the Mouth Music track as described by the OP.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: maeve
Date: 15 Oct 15 - 05:38 AM

Thanks for your efforts, Tattie Bogle!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 15 Oct 15 - 06:08 AM

Would it be this track on Spotify? (UK anyway)

Spotify Alastair Mcdonald mouth music

I think you can get to the rest of the album there.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 15 Oct 15 - 08:16 PM

Can't get Spotify to work for me (shows me the CD then goes blank, even though I've logged in) but, yes, that's the right CD and track as I found on iTunes.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: GUEST,Saes
Date: 10 Dec 15 - 01:13 AM

OHHH MY GOSH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! *squeals like the little fanboy that I am*

Ahem... Thank you very much. I'm a 25 year old Californian who was raised on Alex Barton and Alistair MacDonald. My only copy of Scotland in Song was an old cassette tape that had been made from a record. Anyways, the point is that this has extreme sentimental value for me, and as I'd only ever sung it roughly phonetically (and now that I can finally see the lyrics I can see what I was butchering and what I was surprisingly accurate on) I never had a hope of finding it on my own. Thank you so much for making my year.

Tapadh sibh
-Chris Fassett

(I really need to make an account on here)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 15 Dec 15 - 05:25 AM

Happy to have helped, Chris. I expect you're aware that written Gaelic doesn't always help with pronunciation, so your phonetic versions were probably close to it!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: GUEST,Saes
Date: 05 Feb 16 - 03:24 PM

I studied Gaidhlig as a teenager, so while I'm not fluent by any means, having the written version really helps me with the subtleties of it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Feb 16 - 08:50 PM

From taking classes with the late, great Ken Nilsen years ago, I understand "Sine" to be translated as Jean, not Sheena. Sheena is more or less the way Sine is pronounced, but in English it's Jean,

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: GUEST,PammyJean
Date: 11 May 23 - 04:57 PM

Long story, but I found myself wanting to learn enough of these lyrics to sing along in the car :)

This thread has been really helpful, and I hope I can give back a wee bit.

I've saved what I could piece together, as a Google document, available here:
Mouth Music lyrics

Happy singing!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: GUEST,Jim McLean
Date: 13 May 23 - 03:09 AM

A big thanks to Tattie Bogle for all that research.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: GUEST,D. Henson
Date: 30 May 23 - 03:08 AM

I just have to tell you that I first heard this album of songs on an old cassette my sister brought back from a trip to Scotland in the early '80s and gave me as a gift. The cassette has been long gone, but I was thinking about it tonight (5-29-23) and the Mouth Music song on it (I'm helping to produce a workshop on waulking cloth for a Celtic festival this summer and remembered this from the album but could not remember the name of the album nor the artist. After going through many, many Google rabbit holes, I just found the album ten minutes ago and was looking for more info to see if I could get permission to use the song at my workshop and landed here. I know this thread is ten years old but maybe I will get a response from you? Anyway, I will not use it if I don't get permission, but have to tell you that I have loved this album for nearly four decades now and am delighted to have found it and purchased it tonight and will have it forever! Thank you so much!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: GUEST,Jim mclean
Date: 30 May 23 - 03:12 AM

Hi guest Henson, if you mean Scotland in Song, on the Nevis label then I produced, recorded and own the company. The song is traditional and the arrangement owned by my product company Duart Music but you are more than welcome to use it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Mouth Music (Alastair McDonald)
From: GUEST,Debra Henson
Date: 30 May 23 - 03:22 AM

Hello, Jim
Yes, that is the album. And thank you so much for the amazingly quick reply! I was still trying to add to my message to you with an email address hoping that you would contact me. And tapadh leibh for the permission; I will do it justice with the demonstration (without the urine!) and it will be just perfect for our workshop at the Flagstaff Highland Festival in July. [e-mail]