Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?

Subject: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: axman664
Date: 14 May 03 - 04:04 PM

I know the lyrics to this Tannahill poem/song, but being poorly schooled on the Scottish dialect, I cannot make sense of many of the words. Can anyone give me a hand?

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From:
Date: 14 May 03 - 05:11 PM

What words do you have, Axman?

Subject: DTADD Version: Are You Sleeping Maggie
From: axman664
Date: 14 May 03 - 05:17 PM

I listen to Dougie MacLean's Tribute album quite often, and the same lyrics appear on this site:

Mirk and rainy is the nicht,
There's no' a staum in a' the carry
Lichtnin's gleam athwart the lift,
And cauld winds drive wi' winters fury.

Chorus: Oh, are ye sleeping Maggie
Oh, are ye sleeping Maggie
Let me in, for loud the linn
Is howling ower the warlock Craigie.

Fearfu' soughs the boortree bank,
The rifted wood roars wild and dreary
Loud the iron yett does clank,
The cry of hoolits mak's me eerie.

Abune ma breath, I daurnae speak,
For fear I rouse your waukrife Daddy
Cauld's the blast upon my cheek,
O rise, O rise my bonnie lady.

She's ope'd the door, she's let him in,
She's cuist aside his dreepin plaidie
Blaw yer warst ye rain and wind,
For Maggie noo I'm an aside ye.

Noo since your waukin' Maggie,
Noo since your waukin' Maggie,
What care I for hoolits cry,
For boortree bank or warlock Craigie.

I suppose a literal translation might be a bit "randy", but am not sure...

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From:
Date: 14 May 03 - 05:18 PM

Is it this one found in the DT

Are You Sleeping Maggie

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From:
Date: 14 May 03 - 05:33 PM

Oh, there are some Broad Scots online dictionaries. HAve a look at

Scots Dictionary

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: axman664
Date: 14 May 03 - 05:33 PM

yep:

@displaysong.cfm?SongID=4356

Obviously many lines I can understand, but some words like "craigie", "waukrife", "boortree", etc., escape me.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Auldtimer
Date: 14 May 03 - 06:39 PM

The words as posted as sang by Dougie McL. are not the same as learned by me but then nobody has heard of me. "Waulkrife" = wake-full, unsleeping. "Boortree" = elderberry tree, so for, Fearfu' soughs the boortree bank. Boortree bank is the small hill or rise that has elderberry trees growing on or allong it. Fearfu' soughts, are Fearfull sighs. A description of the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees and landscape through which he is traveling. The first verse I have is:-

Mirk and dreary is the nicht,
There's no' a staur in a' the carry
Lichtnin gleams athwart the rift,
And Winter's winds drive on wi'fury.

Or:-

Dark and depressing is the night
There's not a star in all of the visible sky
Lightning shines through the parting in the tree canopy
and winter's winds drive on with an unabated power.

Cheers

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: pjk
Date: 14 May 03 - 06:41 PM

Here is a copy of the song from the Tannahill Weavers web site,
compete with a translation taken from the scots glossary on their site.

http://members.aol.com/tannahillweavers/


> Original Scots lyric
< English translation


> Mirk and rainy is the nicht,
> there's no' a staum in a' the carry
> Lichtnin's gleam athwart the lift,
> and cauld winds drive wi' winters fury.

< Dark and rainy is the night,
< there's not a star in all the firmament
< lightning flashes gleam across the sky
< and cold winds drive with winters fury.

Chorus:

>   Oh, are ye sleeping Maggie
>   Oh, are ye sleeping Maggie
>   let me in, for loud the linn is howling
>   ower the warlock Craigie.

<   Oh, are you sleeping Maggie
<   Oh, are you sleeping Maggie
<   let me in, for loud the waterfall is howling
<   over the warlock crag

> Fearfu' soughs the boortree bank,
> the rifted wood roars wild and dreary
> Loud the iron yett does clank,
> the cry of hoolits mak's me eerie.

< Fearful sighs the elder tree bank,
< the rifted wood roars wild and dreary
< Loud the iron gate does clank,
< the cry of owls make's me eerie.

Chorus

> Abune ma breath, I daurnae speak,
> for fear I rouse your waukrife Daddy
> Cauld's the blast upon my cheek,
> O rise, O rise my bonnie lady.

< Above my breath, I dare not speak
< for fear I rouse your sleepless Daddy
< Cold's the blast upon my cheek,
< O rise, O rise my beautiful lady.


Chorus

> She's ope'd the door, she's let him in,
> she's cuist aside his dreepin plaidie
> Blaw yer warst ye rain and wind,
> for Maggie noo I'm an aside ye.

< She's opened the door, she's let him in,
< she's cast aside his dripping cloak/kilt
< blow your worst you rain and wind,
< for Maggie now I'm am beside you.

> Noo since your waukin' Maggie,
> noo since yer waukin' Maggie
> What care I for hoolits cry,
> for boortree bank or warlock Craigie.

< Now since your awake Maggie,
< now since your awake Maggie,
< What care I for owls cry,
< for elder tree bank or warlock crag

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Auldtimer
Date: 14 May 03 - 06:47 PM

I meant to add that the "hoolits cry" was the sound of an owl's call and "warlock Craigie" should be walls o' Craigie, a haunted ruined building our hero had to pass on his night journey.   

   Cheers

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: pjk
Date: 14 May 03 - 07:07 PM

I take warlock craigie to mean the crag where a wizards meet. Makes not difference either way, it's still a scary place to go past at night.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Cluin
Date: 14 May 03 - 08:58 PM

Aw hell, it loses too much in the translation anyway.

It's one of a few I do occasionally that I refuse to "anglisize" at all. There's no point.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: axman664
Date: 17 May 03 - 12:15 PM

thanks guys!

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Jim McLean
Date: 18 May 03 - 04:55 AM

Just a couple of wee pedantic points. In Tannahill's original set of lyrics, printed in Paisley by Alexander Gardner, the word in verse one is 'starn' meaning a star: line 4, same verse: An' win's drive wi' Winter's fury: verse 4, second line: I cuist aside my dreepin' plaidie.(this makes more sense as it is the man speaking, not a third person)
Cheers,
Jim McLean

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Patrick Harries
Date: 18 May 03 - 05:09 AM

This was a song that Martin Winsor used to sing back in the 60s & 70s when I was going to the Troubadour in Old Brompton Road.   His interpretation was that the father was a warlock and the lad was climbing up the crag or wall to get to his girlfriend - the warlock's daughter.   When Martin sang it, the hairs used to stand up on the neck and the air trembled, but then, he was a bit unusual!

As far as I can recall, he used to substitute "roarin'" for "howlin'" in the third line of the chorus.   Otherwise the words seem much as he sang them.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Jim McLean
Date: 18 May 03 - 05:10 AM

PS. And verse 4, line 1: She op'd the door, she let me in,

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Jim McLean
Date: 18 May 03 - 05:30 AM

Hi Patrick, I also was around the Troudabour in the early sixties and knew Martin very well. He made up that story about the warlock as the story is a simple love song! He was a marvelouse singer with a unique voice and the 'warlock father' added a bit of extra drama.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Maryrrf
Date: 18 May 03 - 09:00 AM

Ian Benzie, formerly of Old Blind Dogs, sings a different version. I'll look around and see if I can transcribe it.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Auldtimer
Date: 18 May 03 - 12:39 PM

Ian Benzie of OBD sings the version associated with Jeanie Robertson.

      Cheers

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Maryrrf
Date: 18 May 03 - 12:49 PM

Oh that's interested to know. If I get time I will try to post those lyrics. I think I like that version better.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Jim McLean
Date: 18 May 03 - 01:04 PM

Auldtimer, Tannahill definitely says 'warlock Craigie.
Jim

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Jim McLean
Date: 18 May 03 - 03:29 PM

PS sorry no capital on 'craigie'. I was born and brought up in Paisley, next door to Tannahill's birthplace and across the road from his resting place. The Linn mentioned is a small pool which suddenly appears in the 'Glen', an area just off the Neilston Road which leads to the Gleniffer braes, going West. It's not really a wild place but compared to the gentleness of Paisley's Braes, it would be easy to imagine, (poetically) in a bleak, wet night that the crags (rocky places) were menacing, highlighted by owl noises! I spent my childhood running around the Braes as an escape from tenement life in Canal Street and can easily identify with Tannahill's feelings.
Cheers,
Jim McLean

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Auldtimer
Date: 19 May 03 - 12:42 PM

I have enjoied many a fishsupper or curry parked in "The carpark in the sky" watching the lights below and many a Sunday night in Danny Kyle's old club in the Silver Thread.
   
Cheers

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST
Date: 19 May 03 - 02:08 PM

What memories! Danny was a good old pal, he's sorely missed. I learned to play the pipes walking along the Peesweep, the Lugton Road, way back in the fifties.
I've just re-read the report on Tannahill's centenary celebration. The whole of Paisley marched the length of the town Westwards and then down George Street and up towards the Glen and the Linn then over towards your carpark in the Sky. It was a glorious occasion!
Jim

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Jim McLean
Date: 19 May 03 - 05:34 PM

Sorry, I forgot to login for the last posting!
Jim

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: ianfb
Date: 19 Sep 03 - 08:25 PM

The version I sing was the creation of Tom Spiers of " The Gaguers " as far as I know

Ian F Benzie

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 20 Sep 03 - 02:26 PM

Saw the thread title, and thought "Martin Winsor". I only got to the Troubador a couple of times on account of being still at school and living in Stanmore, (and the Troubador running after public transport had stopped) but Martin's very powerful rendition of this made a lasting impression.

Kitty

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Brian
Date: 26 Dec 10 - 03:24 AM

Hey all, I'll put translations in parenthesis under each line. I'll only include 1 chorus though ;). Here it is..


Mirk and rainy is the nicht,
(Dark and rainy is the night)
there's no' a staum in a' the carry
(there's no star in all the sky)
Lichtnin's gleam athwart the lift,
(Lightning's gleam across the lift)
and cauld winds drive wi' winters fury.
(and cold winds drive with winters fury.)

Oh, are ye sleeping Maggie
(Oh, are you sleeping Maggie)
Oh, are ye sleeping Maggie
(Oh, are you sleeping Maggie)
let me in, for loud the linn
(let me in, for the loud the waterfall)
is roarin' o'er the warlock Craigie.
(is roaring over the warlock Craigie.)

Fearfu' soughs the boortree bank
(Fearful rustling/ditches on the boortree bank - boortree is a type of tree, bearing black fruit)
The rifted wood roars wild and dreary.
(The split/open wood/forest roars wild and dreary.)
Loud the iron yett does clank,
(Loud the iron gate does clank,)
And cry of howlets makes me eerie.
(And cry of owls makes me eerie/fearful.)

Abune my breath I daurna speak
(Beyond my breath I darenot speak)
For fear I rouse your waukrife daddie;
(For fear I rouse your wakeful father)
Cauld's the blast upon my cheek,
(Cold is the blast upon my cheek)
O rise, rise my bonnie lady.
(O rise, rise my sweet/pretty lady.)

She oped the door, she let him in
(She opened the door, she let him in)
He cuist aside his dreepin' plaidie.
(He cast aside his dripping plaidie - plaid garment, probably a kilt, or could be a cloak.)
'Blaw your warst, ye rain and win'
(Blow your worst, you rain and wind)
Since, maggie, now I'm in aside ye.
(Since, Maggie, now I'm inside you.)

Now, since ye're wauken, Maggie,
(Now, since you're woken, Maggie)
Now, since ye're wauken, Maggie,
(Now, since you're woken, Maggie)
What care I for howlet's cry,
(What care I for owl's cry,)
For boortree bank or warlock craigie
(For boortree bank or warlock Craigie?)

********
Basically, the song is about a young man who travels through a dark, rainy, starless night to a large cliff or small mountain with a waterfall where a warlock named Craigie (a common surname in Scotland) lives. There is a house there, where his daughter, Maggie is inside sleeping. He is outside, under the waterfall, most likely performing a ritual. The wind is blowing cold, and there's lightning flashing across the cliff. The man is wondering if his beloved is sleeping, because he wants to be let into where she is, saying that the loud waterfall is roaring over the warlock - so he won't hear anything. He passes by a bank with boortrees on it, which are roaring wildly in the wind. There is an iron gate that is clanking loudly, and owl's hooting are making the young man scared. He is afraid to make any noise, beyond breathing, because he does not want to alert Maggie's father, the warlock Craigie. He hopes Maggie wakes up to let him in. She infact does, and closes the door behind him. He casts off his plaid cloak/kilt and falls into Maggie's embrace, saying that the wind and rain can blow its worst - it no longer matters because he is with Maggie now. Now that Maggie is awake, and with him, he is no longer afraid of the owls, the roaring trees, or Maggie's father - the warlock Craigie.

It's a powerful, romantic song about facing your greatest fear to be with your beloved. This is my own interpretation of it. I am not a scholar, and not completely fluent in Scottish Gaelic, but most of these words are easily translated to English.

Hope this helps people out :) Enjoy

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Jim McLean
Date: 26 Dec 10 - 05:42 AM

I'm assuming that Guest Brian wrote the last posting with his tongue firmly stuck in his cheek. Firstly 'craigie' is in lower case and not a person's name. 'Warlock' has many meanings in the Doric including bewitched, magical, supernatural hence a fine description of a dark, wet miserable night among the rocky landscape. His 'plaidie' is a blanket/shawl worn around the body for warmth.
Guest Brian ....not a scholar, and not completely fluent in Scottish Gaelic ... what has Gaelic got to do with it?

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Allan Con
Date: 27 Dec 10 - 11:01 AM

Got to agree Jim. Craigie is simply a diminutive being used for 'craig' which is a Scots word for crag or cliff - as PJK had already explained.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Brian
Date: 28 Dec 10 - 01:09 AM

Actually Jim McLean, I didn't have my tongue in my cheek at all, and don't see why my interpretation (and yea, I said it was only -my- interpretation) has made you so defensive. The only thing you seem to disagree with me on is the word craigie. In many of the lyrics, it is capitalized. It may not be here, either as intent or just the way the person who typed it on here decided to type it. But it actually is a common surname in Scotland, so I don't see how you can claim I am completely incorrect. Again, it's my interpretation. If yours is different, then more power to you. But don't write off my whole post as "tongue in cheek" when you only disagree with 1 word.

No need to be so defensive about it, and start hurling insults.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Jim McLean
Date: 28 Dec 10 - 04:41 AM

Dear Brian, there was no insult intended. the gist of your story is correct, I don't know who would disagree, but the main thrust of your argument of a wizard/warlock Craigie is just outrageous. I have studied the works of Tannahill for many a year and there is no mention of craigie with a capital C. I have actually swum in the Linn as a lad, it is a rocky pool, not far from my family home in Gleniffer, Paisley. Why did you mention Gaelic, by the way?

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Allan Con
Date: 28 Dec 10 - 04:51 AM

http://www.cyberscotia.com/ogmios/texts/shanks/mounteerie.html

It is not relevant whether there is a capital letter or not. For instance in the above poem Witches Craig has capitals but it is not referring to a surname. Jim is correct and 'craig' is simply (and for a Scot pretty obviously) a crag/cliff rather than a surname. A simple google search brings up the fact that the Warlock Craigie itself is an actual waterfall at Lochwinnoch

http://www.lochwinnoch.info/tales/warlock-craigie.php

You are right in that there is no need to be rude but I think your last sentence left you a bit open

"I am not a scholar, and not completely fluent in Scottish Gaelic, but most of these words are easily translated to English."

It seems to suggest that even you, who only knows some Gaelic, can esily translate the words in to English! As Jim says "what has Gaelic got to do with it? The poem is written in Scots - not Gaelic.

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: GUEST,Sheila
Date: 20 Nov 12 - 03:49 PM

As a possible point of interest, there are several Maggie Craigies in the Scottish census (1871 and 1885, as examples).

A Maggie Craigie, 1872-1904, daughter of John Craigie and Mary Wood Marwick, was living in Ayrshire around 1896:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~teschek/harrold/i0000307.htm

Subject: RE: Are You Sleeping Maggie: Translation?
From: Megan L
Date: 20 Nov 12 - 04:18 PM

Sheila Your post is of great intrest to me as i was looking at my husbands family history. John Craigie married Mary wood marwick on the island of Rousay where both were common surnames.

My husbands aunt by marriage was Nettie Marwick of hand I cannot remember how she was related back to Mary but the island is not large so it was probably fairly close.