Lyr Add: Gillie Mor

Subject: Lyr Add: Gillie Mor
From: Andy MacDonald
Date: 09 Oct 15 - 03:07 AM

Would anybody, better versed in the Scots Language than I, like to have a stab at an English translation of Hamish Henderson's "Gillie Mor" It's for an American "cousin" who loves the song and wants to understand more fully all the wonderful sentiments expressed. Thanks in anticipation

Andy MacDonald

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Gillie Mor
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Oct 15 - 05:49 AM

Look in the song archive on Dick Gaughan's wrebsite where you'll find the lyrics and a list on the left of the Scottish words that are moe challenging for us sassenachs.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Gillie Mor
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 09 Oct 15 - 05:51 AM

Wrebsite is NOT one of those challenging words. It's my eyesight! :-(

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Gillie Mor
From: GUEST,crazy little woman
Date: 09 Oct 15 - 10:21 AM

Here's the URL.

http://dickgaughan.co.uk/songs/texts/gilliemo.html

Some words are explained, as Steve says, and there's an interesting historical note. Please note that "horo" doesn't mean anything, really. It's sort of like "aha", but more of a salute.   

Dick Gaughan observes that one might deduce the meaning of a Scots term from English, German or Norse. So how's your Norse?

There are dictionaries of Scots dialect online.

(I could hardly understand a word of the song.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Gillie Mor
From: Andy MacDonald
Date: 09 Oct 15 - 05:15 PM

Thanks folks.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Gillie Mor
From: GUEST,kenny
Date: 10 Oct 15 - 01:40 PM

From Dick Gaughan's website :

"The tune is "Whistle Ower The Lave O't". Written at the height of the Cold War as a message of friendship and solidarity from the Blacksmith's Trade Union in Leith in Scotland to the Blacksmith's Trade Union in Kiev in the Ukraine.
It creates the character of the Gillie Mor (The Big Lad) as a kind of Paul Bunyan-esque giant to symbolise the industrial working class".

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Gillie Mor
From: GUEST,kenny
Date: 10 Oct 15 - 01:44 PM

https://youtu.be/zio3URE7YEk

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Gillie Mor
From: Richard Mellish
Date: 10 Oct 15 - 04:51 PM

One word in the song that is not glossed on Dick's web page is "ballant". My Scots dictionary gives that as "ballad" or "song".