Lyr Add: Oran Beinn-Li

Subject: Lyr Add: Orain Beinn-Li
From: RunrigFan
Date: 13 Aug 20 - 08:42 AM

The song has been covered by Arthur Cormack and Catherine Ann-MacPhee

Thugaibh taing dhan a’ mhuinntir
Tha fo riaghladh na Bànrigh,
Rinn an lagh dhuinn cho diongmhalt’
’S nach caill sinn Beinn Lì.

Cuiribh beannachd le aiteas
Gu tuathanaich Bhaltois.
Bha air tùs anns a’ bhatail,
’S nach do mheataich san strì.

Thugaibh beannachd gu “Pàrnell”,
Thug a’ bhuaidh air “An t-Sàtan”,
Chor ’s nach fhaicear gu bràth e
Tighinn air àrainn na tìr.

Nuair a thàinig e chiad uair
Leth-cheud “aingeal” fo riaghladh,
Chuir e còignear an iarainn
Ann an crìochan Beinn Lì.

Chaidh an giùlan leis “na h-ainglean”,
’S an glasadh an gainntir;
’S a dh’aindeoin cumhachd an nàimhdean,
’S leò am fonn is Beinn Lì.

’S na mnathan bu shuairce
’S bu mhodhaile gluasad,
Chaidh an claiginn a spuaiceadh
Ann am bruachan Beinn Lì.

Siud a’ bheinn a tha dealbhach,
’S dhan a’ Bhànrigh bha sealbhach,
’S chan eil beinn ann an Albainn
’N-diugh cho ainmeil ’s Beinn Lì.

’S ged tha ’n Cuiltheann is Glàmaig
Measg nam beanntan as àille,
Cha bhi ’n eachdraidh air a fàgail
Ach aig sàiltean Beinn Lì.

https://thepeoplesvoice.glasgow.ac.uk/song-ben-li-cathy-ann/

Full song

        
Òran Beinn Lì

    Thugaibh taing dhan a' mhuinntir
    Tha fo riaghladh na Banrigh,
    Rinn an lagh dhuinn cho diongmhalt'
    'S nach caill sinn Beinn Lì.

    Cuiribh beannachd le aiteas
    Gu tuathanaich Bhaltois
    Bha air tùs anns a' bhatail,
    'S nach do mheataich san strì.

    Thugaibh beannachd gu 'Pàrnell'
    Thug a' bhuaidh air 'An t-Sàtan',
    Air chor 's nach faicear gu bràth e
    Tighinn air àrainn na tìr.

    Nuair thàinig e chiad uair
    'S leth-cheud 'aingeal' fo riaghladh,
    Chuir e còignear an iarainn
    Ann an crìochan Beinn Lì.

    'S na diùlnaich a b' uaisle,
    'S nach robh riamh ann an tuasaid,
    Chaidh na ruighich a shuaineadh
    Gu cruaidh air an dùirn.

    Chaidh an giùlan leis 'na h-aingle'
    'S an glasadh an gainntir;
    'S a dh'aindeoin cumhachd an nàimhdean,
    'S leo am fonn is Beinn Lì.

    'S na mnathan bu shuairce
    'S bu mhodhaile gluasad,
    Chaidh an claiginn a spuaiceadh
    Ann am bruachan Beinn Lì.

    'S ged bha 'n sealladh na uabhas,
    'S an fhuil a' reothadh san luachair
    Le slacain nan truaghan,
    Cha d' fhuair iad Beinn Lì.

    Siud a' bheinn a tha dealbhach,
    'S dhan a' Bhanrigh bha sealbhach,
    'S chan eil beinn ann an Albainn
    'N-diugh cho ainmeil 's Beinn Lì.

    'S math an colaist' am prìosan –
    'S fhad' o dh'aithnich mi fhìn sin –
    Ach thig buaidh leis an fhìrinn
    Dh'aindeoin innleachd nan daoi.

    'S math an colaist' an Calton -
    'S ceart a dh'fhoghlaim e 'm 'Martar',
    Ged bha cuid thug às acaid
    Leis an rachd bha nan crìdh'.

    'S nis, a chroitearan ionmhainn,
    Cumaibh cuimhn' air MacAonghais,
    'S dèanaibh sòlas ri iomradh
    An duine shuilbheara, ghrinn.

    'S ged a dh'fhàg e ar sràidean
    Le bhanoglach bhàidheil,
    Tha i son' ann a Bhàlaigh
    Dol gu àirigh cruidh-laoigh.

    'S i athchuing' is ùrnaigh
    Gach bochd a bha dlùth dhi
    Gum bi toradh an dùrachd
    Na cùrsan a-chaoidh.


Arthur Cormack's version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxrmb7WbbqY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpHfMDmgtL0

Not sure if same words are sung

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Oran Beinn-Li
From: Felipa
Date: 21 Nov 21 - 07:29 PM

The words to Òran Beinn Lì were written by Màiri MacPherson (1821-1898, nee MacDonald), best known as Màiri Mhòr nan Òran (big/great Mary of the Songs). It commemorates a struggle on Màirí's native Isle of Skye, when crofters protested the withdrawal of grazing rights on the slopes of Beinn Li.

The Battle of the Braes took place in 1882. Màiri Mhòr "composed this song in May 1887 after crofters from the Braes district of Skye received word from the Land Court that they had won the right to graze their livestock on Ben Lì and that their rents would be lowered. ... ...

"In the song the “farmers of Valtos” were the first people to refuse to pay the increased rents and “Pàrnell” was Charles Stewart from Valtos, nicknamed after the Irish Land Leaguer, Charles Stewart Parnell. The “Satan” referred to is Sherriff Ivory and the “angels” are the policemen. Having been imprisoned and then taken to court for his part in the Braes incident Stewart was found to be innocent."

quoted from https://thepeoplesvoice.glasgow.ac.uk/song-ben-li-cathy-ann/

spoken word recording will help with pronunciation

sung by Catherine Ann Mac Phee

sung by Art Cormack

TRANSLATION of shorter version

Give thanks to the people under the Queen’s rule who gave us such a steadfast law that we will not lose Ben Lì.

Send greetings with gladness to the farmers of Valtos who were at the front in the battle and who did not weaken in the struggle.

Give greetings to “Pàrnell” who beat “The Satan”, to the extent that he will never be seen again approaching this area.

When he came the first time, with fifty “angels” under his command, he put five men in irons at the boundaries of Ben Lì.

They were borne away by the “angels” and locked in a prison, and despite the power of their enemies they still have the land of Ben Lì.

The kind women who carry themselves so courteously, their skulls were broken on the slopes of Ben Lì.

That’s the shapely hill which was fortunate for the Queen. There’s no hill in Scotland today as famous as Ben Lì.

Although the Cuillins and Glàmaig are among the most beautiful of mountains, the history will only be associated with the slopes of Ben Lì.

source https://thepeoplesvoice.glasgow.ac.uk/song-ben-li-cathy-ann/
(I don't know whether or not this is Donald Meek's translation)                   n)

Subject: Màiri Mhór nan Oran
From: Felipa
Date: 03 Aug 22 - 06:32 PM

http://www.skyelit.co.uk/poetry/poets15.html

MAIRI MHOR NAN ORAN (1821 – 1898)

Màiri was born in March 1821 at Skeabost in the Isle of Skye, the daughter of John MacDonald, Iain Bàn, a crofter. When she was about eight the family, following an abortive attempt to emigrate to Canada, settled in Glasgow; returning to Skye some twelve years later.

Màiri left the island about 1844 and went to Inverness where she married Isaac MacPherson in 1847. After her husband’s death in 1871 she earned her living as a nurse. It was during this period that she was accused of theft and imprisoned. She always protested her innocence and her bitterness at the injustice which she had suffered left a deep impression upon her. Indeed, she maintained that it first gave life to her poetry.

Upon her release from prison in 1872 she went to Glasgow, where she underwent formal training as a nurse before going on to become a district nurse in Greenock. During her time in the Lowlands she returned frequently

to Skye and finally settled there for good in 1882. The Laird of Skeabost, Lachlan MacDonald, gave her a small house rent free. But she did not return to a quiet life, for during her time in the Lowlands she had become deeply involved in the Land Agitation movement and she continued to attend meetings in the islands and on the mainland. She also accompanied Charles Fraser Mackintosh on several trips on behalf of the movement.

She kept in frequent touch with Gaels in the Highlands and Lowlands, attending and singing at ceilidhs, even taking part in the first Mod in 1892, though she did not win a prize. She died in Portree on the 8th November 1898.

Màiri Mhór nan Oran was the most prolific of the nineteenth century Gaelic poets. Her work may be divided as follows: (1) songs about her personal humiliation; (2) songs about Highland affairs, particularly the land agitation; (3) songs about Skye; (4) festive songs; (4) eulogies, elegies and official poetry.

There is a close affinity between her personal songs and those about conditions in the Highlands. Out of her own suffering came a fellow feeling for the sufferings of her countrymen, and indeed the two came together in

‘Luchd na Beurla’. Her songs about the Highlands are very different from others of the time. Though they contain frequent poetic weaknesses, most of them show a strength of mind and understanding, not to mention feeling, which was rare in her day. She did not adopt the romantic style of Niall MacLeòid and his followers and her poetry has a realism lacking in that of her contemporaries.

In composing, Màiri used one of the oldest methods – she put new words to existing tunes and sometimes used existing words, particularly at the end of a line when seeking rhyme or aicill. All of her songs, with the exception of two, were composed upon Gaelic tunes. This sets her apart from Niall MacLeòid. However, many of the songs which she used were those popular in Lowland ceilidhs in the second half of the nineteenth century, and a goodly number of her models are to be found in An t-Oranaiche (Mac-na-Ceardadh 1879).

(The information for the above account is for the most part from Domhnall Eachann Meek’s account of the life and work of Mary MacPherson, Màiri Mhór nan Oran, in his Màiri Mhór nan Oran (Glaschu: Gairm, 1977)