MÀILI DHONN, BHÒIDHEACH DHONN

Sung by John ("Seògan") Shaw, with the North Shore Singers. Recorded at Indian Brook, Victoria County, September 1976.
 

Seisd:	Chorus:
Màili dhonn, bhòidheah dhonn, Màili dhonn, thill i dhachaidh Gruagach òg a chùil duinn, Dh' eireadh m'intinn air t'fhaicinn.	Brown-haired Màili, pretty Màili, Brown-haired Màili has returned home. Young maiden with the brown hair, My spirits would rise to see you.
Gura mise tha gu tinn, Cùl mo chinn air an leacann, Bha mi (i) reimhe rotach, garbh Air an fhairge 'gam marcachd.	I'm heartsick, The back of my head resting on the slope of the mountain, It used to be rough and choppy On the ocean, riding (the waves).
Gura mise tha gun spéird Ann an Dùn Eideann 'sa Sasann Bha mi 'reimhe am measg nan seòid 'Cluich an òir air na cairtean.	I'm without energy, In Edinburgh and England. I used to be among the heroes, Wagering gold on cards.
'Tighinn timcheall Rudha Lìod, 'S iomadh gunna caol a' lasadh. Leig mo Mhàili 'n siud m'a cluais, Ghabh i 'n cuan; 's ann bha 'fasan.	Coming round the point of Leith, Many's the long, slender gun that was blazing. My Màili came about and headed out to sea, As was her custom.
'S ann 'tighinn timcheall River Powell (Liverpool) Bha i 'roladh 's a' slaiseadh. Chluinnte farum a cuid chrann Air a' chabhsair ann an Glascho.	Approaching Liverpool, She was rolling and lashing. The racket from her masts Could be heard on the pavements of Glasgow.
Thog i 'h-acraichean ann an Éirinn, Leig i bréid ann an Sasann; Bhuail i 'sròn air tìr a' Lìod, 'S leig i 'chridhe (?) ann an Glascho.	She weighed anchor in Ireland, She lowered her sail in England; Her bow reached land in Leith And she let off her heart (?) in Glasgow.
'S ann an t-seachdain bho'n dé Thog mi bréid ann an Sasann, 'S ann a shamhlaich mi do cheum Ri laogh féidh 's e aig astar.	A week ago yesterday I raised sail in England. I likened your pace To a young deer bounding ahead.
Bha i siùbhlach gun mheathadh Eadar cruinn agus ragan; Darach nach teirig a choidh Eadar druim agus plangan.	She was speedy and unfailing, Both in her masts and her ribs; Oak that never decays In her keel and planks.
'Nuair a theid mi chun na féill' 'S e do bhréid a thig dhachaidh; Tops'l ùr 'ga dheanamh dlùth, Ged chosgadh e crùn an t-slat dhomh.	When I go to the fair Your kertch will return home with me; A new tops'l tightly made, Though it cost a crown a yard.

"The Màili Dhonn praised here is a ship which is portrayed as an attractive young woman.  Gael. bréid means both the headdress ("kertch") worn by women in the Gaidhealtachd and the sails of a ship.  Although this powerful song has been recorded elsewhere in Cape Breton, it is not known in Scotland.  John Shaw ("Seògan") was raised near Mount Smokey on the North Shore and lived for a time with Malcolm Angus MacLeod at Sgir Dhu."

Transcription, translation and notes by John Shaw, 1978.  I've laid this one out as a table for the sake of clarity, but it may be that this involves an undesirable amount of extra code in the background, so I'd be inclined only to do it rarely.

Malcolm