Lyr Add: Laddie with the Golden Hair

Subject: Laddie With The Golden Hair ^^
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 11 Mar 01 - 10:57 PM

Another spin-off from the search for tunes missing from the DT.  LADDIE WITH THE GOLDEN HAIR  is an incomplete set of Henry Whyte ("Fionn")'s English version of the Scottish Gaelic song Oigfear A' Chùil-Dualaich.  Below is the full text in both languages; Whyte's version is for singing, and is not a precise translation.

OIGFHEAR A' CHUIL-DUALAICH	LADDIE WITH THE GOLDEN HAIR
(Gaelic Words from the Oranaiche)	(Translation by Henry Whyte ["Fionn"])
A fhleasgaich an fhuilt chraobhaich chais, Oigfhir a' chùil dualach; A fhleasgaich òig an òirfhuilt chais, Gur i do mhais' a bhuair mi.	Oh! laddie with the golden hair, In wavy ringlets flowing; Oh! laddie with the golden hair, Thy looks were my undoing.
Mheall thu, mheall thu, mheall thu mi; Do bhòidhichead a bhuair mi; 'Us gheall thu dhòmhs' air iomadh dòigh Gu'm biodh do stòras buan domh.	Thy beauty drew my heart to thee, But now I am deceivèd; The promises you gave to me My too fond heart believèd.
Is truagh nach robh mi 'us mo ghaol An lagan an fhraoich uaine, 'S ged laighinn tinn, gu'n éirinn slàn, 'S mo làmh 'bhi fo d'chùl dualach.	Oh! would I were in yonder glen, Now roaming with my deary; My heart would wake to joy again, Though now 'tis sad and dreary.
O, gur mise 'tha gu tinn, 'Us falt mo chinn air fuasgladh, 'S gun fhios a'm fhein ciod e'n cion-fàth 'Thug dhuits', a'ghràidh, bhi'n gruaim rium.	My locks untended loosely flow, My spirits are dejected; In vain I try the cause to know Why thou hast me neglected.
Na'm biodh agam boineid dhù-ghorm 'S ite mholach uaine, 'S mi gu'n rachadh leat, a ghaoil, Do sheòmar nan daoin'-uaisle.	If dressed in silks or satins rare, Although of lowly station, I'd to thy stately halls repair, And face each proud relation.
Bith'dh tu aig banais agus "bàl", A' mànran ris gach gruagaich, 'S bith'dh mise'n sin air chùl gach màis 'S do chàirdean ann an gruaim rium.	At balls or weddings thou art prone To flirt with many a maiden, While I, despised, must sit alone, My heart with sorrow laden.
B'òg a thug mi dhuit mo ghaol, Ged nach d'rinn mi 'bhuannachd, 'S an t-snaoim a cheangail sinn gu tearnn, I air gach ceann air fuasgladh.	The love we plighted in the glade I thought would fail us never; The knot we tied, the vows we made, I fear are loosed for ever.

Texts taken from Alfred Moffat's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Highlands.  A midi made from the notation in that book goes to the Mudcat Midi Pages, but may take a while to appear; until then, it may be heard courtesy of the the  South Riding Folk Network  site:  Click to play.

Malcolm ^^

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Laddie With The Golden Hair
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 03:33 AM

Great work, Malcolm - but I had a heck of a time figuring out how to harvest it. I'm looking for a text file, with the English verses first, and then the Gaelic below. This is a wonderful way to display a song - but I had to reset all the line breaks, one line at a time (unless you know a better way?) Next time, if you can e-mail me a copy of the text, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
-Joe Offer (click to e-mail)-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Laddie With The Golden Hair
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 09:25 AM

Will do!

Malcolm

Subject: Posting Lyrics in Tables
From: Joe Offer
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 03:45 PM

Actually, Malcolm and others, you can probably do this same thing and still make it easy for us to harvest. Just make a table like you did, but have one song in one cell, and the translation is the cell next to it. Use regular line breaks within the cell. If you do like you did and introduce every line with <tr><td> in the middle and </td><td> and </td></tr> at the end of the line, you give me fits...

• Introduce the song text for the Gaelic with <table><tr><td>
• Then post the whole text, with line breaks. Then put </td><td> and the entire text of the English lyrics
• Then close with </td></tr></table>

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Laddie With The Golden Hair
From: GUEST,Bruce O
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 03:52 PM

Aside note. I compared Moffat's tune against an old copy of "The yellow-hair'd laddie" and they are not the same. The latter is called for on a 17th century broadside ballad and is B535 in the broadside tunes on my website. Also, check any comments that Moffat might make carefully. I found to my dismay that several tune identifications in his "The Minstrelscy of Ireland' were wrong.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Laddie With The Golden Hair
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 08:34 PM

Looks like a good plan, Joe; I'll try it next time.

Moffat doesn't give any provenance for the melody, so I didn't worry myself over it; it's the tune to which this song is sung nowadays, anyway, wherever it comes from.  Actually, the Gaelic doesn't make any reference to hair-colour, just to its luxuriance, so I assumed that "Yellow Haired Laddie" was unrelated; I did check the tune, and on the face of it it that does seem to be the case.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Laddie With The Golden Hair
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 12 Mar 01 - 09:12 PM

Moffat had no notes on any tunes in 'The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Highlands' which is rather unusual for him. He was Scots, but lived mostly in London. I've noted elsewhere his 3rd hand copy of G. R. Graham's 2nd partial transcript of the Straloch lute MS, and his translations of the tunes. The maunuscript is often faulty and the tune of 1627 for "Geordie" couldn't be translated by Graham or Moffat.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Laddie With The Golden Hair
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 09:45 PM

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Laddie With The Golden Hair
From: priestess
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 10:13 PM

I tried to post a message before--but I dont think it went on. So, here goes again.
I am trying to find the English translation to a song listed as Nighean Donn A Chuailien Riomhaich on a CD by Alasdair Fraser.
I think on a CD called 'Celtic Twighlight"--a collection of Celtic and Gaelic pieces he calls it "Lassie with Golden Hair'.
The tune is so hauntingly beautiful.
I wanted to know if the lyrics are really the same as Laddie With the Golden Hair or if this is another song???
Thanks for your help.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Laddie With The Golden Hair
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 15 Jan 05 - 10:44 PM

A completely different song: don't confuse "laddie" and "lassie"!

I posted Gaelic words, English "singing" version and tune here some years ago; you can find it via the onsite search engine, but don't rely on the spelling always being the same. Stick to something easy like Nighean Donn and then narrow it down.

Nighean donn a'chuailein rìomhaich