Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach

Subject: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: weepiper
Date: 15 Sep 01 - 02:46 PM

BOTHAN AIRIGH AM BRAIGH RAINNEACH (traditional, Scottish Gaelic)
Couldn't find this on the database so thought I'd add it as it's one of my favourites, you can hear it on Cathy Anne MacPhee's cd 'Chi Mi'n Gheamhradh' (I see Winter). Will attempt translation at the end for those interested.
Gur e m'anam is m'eudail
chaidh an de do Ghleann Garadh
Fear na gruaig mar an t-or
is na poig air bhlas meala

Refrain:
O hi o o hu o
o hi o o hu o
hi, ri ri o hu eile
o hi, ri ri ri o gheallaibh o

'S tu as fhearr do'n tig deise
de na sheasadh air thalamh
's tu as fhearr do'n tig culaidh
de na chunna mi dh'fhearaibh

'S tu as fhearr do'n tig osan
's brog shocrach nam bariall
cota Lunnainneach dubh-ghorm
's bidh cruinnean ga cheaannach

'S nuair a ruigeadh tu 'n fheill
se mo ghearr sa thig dhachaigh
thig mo chrios a Dun Eideann
's mo bhreid a Dun Chailleann

Cuim am biomaid gun eudal
agus spreidh aig na Gallaibh?
gheibh sinn crodh as a'Mhaorainn
agus caoraich a Gallaibh

S'ann a bhios sinn gan arach
air airigh 'm Braigh Rainneach
ann am bothan an t-sugraidh
's gur e bu dunadh dha barrach.

Forgive me if I cock up the translation, some of it's a bit archaic, but here goes:

My love, my darling
went to Glen Garry yesterday
the man with hair like gold
and kisses that taste of honey

(refrain is mostly vocables)

You suit your outfit best
of any who stand on earth
and you carry off that suit the best
of anyone I've ever seen

and you suit your hose the best
and the shiny buckled shoes
a blue-black London coat
and it'll be crowns that buy it [eg it's expensive!]

When you arrive at the fair
My things shall come home [with you]:
my hood will come from Edinburgh
and my braid from Dunkeld

Why should we be without treasures
when the lowlanders have so much?
We'll get cattle from Moray
and sheep from Sutherland

And there we will live without shame
on a sheiling on Brae Rannoch
in the bothy of lovemaking
closed with a door of brushwood.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From:
Date: 15 Sep 01 - 04:17 PM

Tapadh leibh, a phiobair bheag.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: GUEST,chrisj
Date: 16 Sep 01 - 02:08 AM

Weepiper, you've revived lovely memories of my week at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the Gaelic College at Sleath on the Isle of Skye, and my introduction to the Gaelic. I was so impressed with the entire setup there and the beauty of the surrounding area. Luckily we had beautiful weather through the week and I was able to take full advantage of the long summer evenings to see a lot of the Scottish mainland (west coast) as well.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: GUEST,Rory
Date: 05 Jan 21 - 09:21 PM

Bothan Àirigh Am Bràigh Raithneach
(A Sheiling On The Braes Of Rannoch)


Printed in John Gillies publication: A collection of ancient and modern Gaelic poems and songs (Sean dain, agus orain Ghaidhealach), 1786, pp.242-244.
The song is untitled but Gillies gives a heading:
"Oran le Oig-mhnaoi d' a Leannan"
(A Young Woman's Song to Her Lover)

It is recorded also in the MacLagan MS (Glasgow University) of the same late 18th century period.
James MacLagan or McLagan (Seumas MacLathagain; 1728–1805) was a Church of Scotland minister and collector of Scottish Gaelic poetry and song. His manuscript collection, known as the McLagan Collection, comprises some 250 manuscripts of primarily Gaelic song and poetry collected in the second half of the eighteenth century.
McLagan likely provided some material for John Gillies' Clan Feuds and Songs (1780), and he was closely involved with the same publisher's book of 1786, known generally as the Gillies Collection.



"Oran le Oig-mhnaoi d' a Leannan"
(A Young Woman's Song to Her Lover)


Gur e m' anam is m' eudail
Chaidh 'a de do Ghleann-Garradh;

Fear na gruaig' mar an t or
'S na poig air bhias meala.

Ho ao ho u o
Ho ao ho u o
I ri ri ho ao o
I ri ri 's i o dhiali o.
Fear na gruaig, &c.

'S tu 's fhearr do 'n tig deise
Do na sheasamh air thalamh,
Ho ao o, &c.

'S tu 's fhearr do 'n tig culaddh
Do na chunna mi dh' fhearuibh.

Coitain Lunduinneach du-ghorm,
'S biaidh na cruintain ga cheannach.

'S tu 's fearr do 'n tig osan
'S brog shocrach nam barr-iall.

'Nuair a rigeadh tu 'n fheill
'S e mo ghear-s' a thig dhathigh.

Mo chriosan, mo chire
'S mo stiomag chaol cheangail.

Mo lamhainne boidheach
'S deis oir air am barruibh.
Mo sporan donn iallach
Mar re scian nan eas aineamh.

Thig mo chrios a Dun eudain
'S mo bhreid a Dun-chaillunn.

Cuim am biodhmaid gun eadail
Agus ni aig na Gallaibh?

Gheibh sinn Crobh as a Mhaorann
Agus Caoirich a Gallamh.

'S an a bhios sinn ga 'n arach
Air airidh 'm Braidh-raineach.

Ann am bothan an t sugraidh
'S gur e bu dhuna' dha barrach.

Bhiodh a chuag 's an smudan
Ag gabhail ciuil duinn air chrannaibh.

Bhiodh an damh donn sa bhuireadh
Gar dusgadh sa mhaduin


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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: RunrigFan
Date: 05 Jan 21 - 09:40 PM

Julie Fowluis version

Gur e m' anam is m' eudail
chaidh an-dè do Ghleann Garadh:
fear na gruaig' mar an t-òr
is na pòig air bhlas meala.

O hi ò o hu ò, o hi ò o hu ò,
Hi rì ri ò hu eile
O hì ri ri ri ò gheallaibh ò

Is tu as fheàrr don tig deise
de na sheasadh air thalamh;
is tu as fheàrr don tig culaidh
de na chunna mi dh' fhearaibh.
Is tu as fheàrr don tig osan
is bròg shocrach nam barrall:
còta Lunnainneach dubh-ghorm,
is bidh na crùintean ga cheannach.

An uair a ruigeadh tu 'n fhèill
is e mo ghèar-sa a thig dhachaigh;
mo chriosan is mo chìre
is mo stìomag chaol cheangail.

Thig mo chrios à Dùn Eideann
is mo bhrèid à Dùn Chailleann,
gheibh sinn crodh as a' Mhaorainn
agus caoraich à Gallaibh.

Is ann a bhios sinn 'gan àrach
air àirigh am Bràigh Raithneach.
ann am bòthan an t-sùgraidh
is gur e bu dùnadh dha barrach.

Bhiodh a' chuthag 's an smùdan
a' gabhail ciùil duinn air chrannaibh;
bhiodh an damh donn 's a bhùireadh
gar dùsgadh sa mhadainn.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: RunrigFan
Date: 05 Jan 21 - 09:41 PM

It was my love and my treasure
who went yesterday to Glengarry,
the man with hair like gold
and kisses that taste of honey.

You suit your clothes
better than any man on earth;
you look better in your garments
than any man I've ever seen.

You look better in stockings
and comfortable laced shoes,
a dark blue London coat
that cost many crowns to buy.

When you arrive at the fair,
you'll bring home my gear,
my small belt and my comb
and my little narrow fastening
head-band.

My belt will come from Edinburgh
and my marriage head-dress from
Dunkeld,
we'll get cattle from the Mearns
and sheep from Caithness.

And we'll rear them in a sheiling
in Bràigh Raithneach,
in the brush-wood enclosed hut of
dalliance.

The cuckoo will sing
its song to us from the trees,
the brown stag and its roaring
will wake us in the morning.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: GUEST,Rory
Date: 05 Jan 21 - 09:43 PM

It is said that a young woman composed the song to an imaginary lover.

This is the lover’s ‘shopping-list’ of items (and she uses the term ‘gear’ in Gaelic) that are going to win her heart and most of the items can be recognised in national museum collections eg. the ‘Elizabethan’
style of glove with embroidered extensions to the finger tips in ellipse form, giving the wearer the appearance of longer, slimmer fingers according to Renaissance fashion. The singer suggests that a ‘fillet’ or head-band would be desirable and uses the word stìomag for this. Traditionally the stìom was worn symbolically by unmarried girls and, on marriage, the head-piece of a folded (three-cornered) square of fine linen was then adopted. This was the brèid, translated conventionally as ‘kertch’ or ‘coif’. Three couplets further on in the song, the singer suggests that a kerchief or brèid from Dunkeld would be very desirable, thus perhaps signalling her hope or expectation of her lover.
Other detail in the song is well-known in the ethnological record, for example, the ‘brushwood’ door or barrach was the style of wattle door which was moved into position depending on the direction of the wind and whether the hut had two little doors opposite each other, which was common in the sheiling bothies.
The challenge to the lover to go out and get some livestock from the adjacent non-Gaels was typical of the ‘heroic’ society of the Gàidhealtachd, for whom acquiring cattle by raid or stealth was high in the sense of values. Cattle-raiding was a test of prowess and manhood rather than a moral slur.


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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: GUEST,rory
Date: 05 Jan 21 - 10:53 PM

In the eight verse version, the fifth verse is:

My beautiful gloves
With golden beads at the cuffs;
My brown drawstring purse
And a knife with a rare handle.



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Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: Felipa
Date: 06 Jan 21 - 12:20 PM

The background information give by Rory is very interesting.
In a quick glance I noticed a couple of obvious errors or typos
post #1 verse 3 cheaannach should be cheannach (to buy)
("h" indicating lenition added to the pronunciation of the original word, ceannach, a common feature of Gaelic grammar)

post# 4 (21 Jan) bhias meala should be bhlas meala - taste of honey
I think cruintain should read crùintean (crowns)
caoraich (sheep, plural) is the usual spelling though Bàrdachd Ghàidhlig had crùintein and caoirich; either spelling follows the convention of matching slender vowels (i,e) or broad vowels (a,o,u) on either side of consonants.
Coitain also stood out for me as not observing the convention. Bàrdachd Ghàidhlig gives còtan . Modern dictionary word for coat is còta, plural còtaichean
https://archive.org/stream/bardachdghaidhli00wats#page/192/mode/2up

and there was also a typo in the spelling of Julie Fowlis' surname

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Bothan Airigh Am Braigh Rainneach
From: RunrigFan
Date: 06 Jan 21 - 12:35 PM

I rushed sorry