Lyr/Tune Req: Buachaill On Eirne / Boys of Ireland

Subject: Boys of Ireland
From: GUEST,Skye Laurent
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 08:09 AM

I know there is a fiddle tune called Boys of Ireland. A slow song - I heard it sung once on a Clannad tape, and there were Gaelic words to it. But I can't find the tune or lyrics on the song list, does anyone know any more about it? Thanks, Skye

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Boys of Ireland
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 08:48 AM

If you go to  J C's Tunefinder  and do a search for Buachaill On Eirne, you will get several references (to two separate transcriptions) and will be able to see staff notation and abc format or hear the tune in midi.  I can't help with any lyric there may be.

Malcolm

Subject: Buachaill on Eirne (Boy from Ireland)
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 08:56 AM

I've found you a text, too, at  The Unofficial Clannad Website:

 Buachaill on Eirne (Boy from Ireland)  The "/" symbol indicates that there should be an acute accent over the preceding letter.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Boys of Ireland
From: MartinRyan
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 01:57 PM

I'm puzzled. "éirne" (hope the accent shows for you!) is The Erne River, which straddles the border in Ireland. Is that what we're discussing?

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Boys of Ireland
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 17 Feb 01 - 03:23 PM

I just gave the title as I found it,and hadn't even thought about that, but I see your point.  The lyric I linked to above has Buachaill ón Éireann in the verse.  I don't know why the title should be different; the only reference I could find to Buachaill ón Éireann was to a song partly based on it on a Van Morrison record.  There are other references on the web, all apparantly to Buachaill ón Éirne; there is another set of the text here, with an additional verse but no translation:  Buachaill ón Éirne:  I'd have guessed that the confusion arose with Clannad, but Richard Robinson (one of the 2 entries at JC) also has it spelled that way, and I doubt if they were his source.  Perhaps somebody can shed some light on this for us?

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Boys of Ireland
From: GUEST,skye laurent
Date: 01 Mar 01 - 07:07 AM

Thankyou! Another one of life's little mysteries cleared up! Skye

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Boys of Ireland
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 04 Mar 01 - 07:12 PM

I agree with Martin, a boy from the banks of the Erne River, Buachaill ón Éirne, not Buachaill ón Éireann (which wouldn't be grammatically correct anyway). Unfortunately, the unofficial Clannad site is riddled with errors.

Subject: Buachaill ón Éirne
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 11:18 AM

Áine Cooke has Buachaill ón Éirne at her website.
This is a better source than either of the two links previously given. Of those, the four verse transcription is more accurate than the unofficial Clannad website transcription,but it lacks accent marks and has a number of typographical errors. A couple of times I sent corrections of Irish language and of translations to the Clannad site, which has a lot of mistakes, but there was no response so I'm not bothering any more.

Re the unofficial Clannad website: "mo Leo" doesn't mean "my Leo". It is "mo leo". I can see the translator's dilemma as the only "leo" listed in Ó Domhnaill and Ó Dineen's dictionaries is the prepositional pronoun menaing "with them". I always though "mo leo" was short for "mo leoin", alas, my grief. Áine has "my pet" and this is plausible, again an abbreviated form of "mo leonín" . I see the dictionary gives "leo-leoín" as "hushaby".

Where Áine has "ní dóigh", "ní moide" is more commonly sung (third verse of her transcription).

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Boys of Ireland
From: Áine
Date: 05 Mar 01 - 03:10 PM

Dear Philippa,

You wrote " . . . the four verse transcription is more accurate than the unofficial Clannad website transcription, but it lacks accent marks and has a number of typographical errors." Were you speaking of the lyrics on my website, or the Clannad site? If I have any errors in the lyrics, I'd appreciate you letting me know. I've revised the page to reflect the note you made of the phrase ní móide.

Le meas, Áine

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Boys of Ireland
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 06 Mar 01 - 04:31 PM

the 4 verse transcription with typos is one that Malocolm Douglas gave a link to, 17 Feb. And Malcolm, if you're still looking for a translation, see Áine's website.

Subject: Buachaill ón Éirne
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 08:43 AM

Buachaill ón Éirne is a very well-known song in Ireland. I can say certainly that in the North many people sing it and most have learned the song not from recordings but from other singers or from language or music classes. I have only ever heard the one version, give or take a verse, so I was surprised to see ten verses published in Éinrí Ó Muirgheasa's "Céad de Cheoltaibh Uladh" (1915, new re-edited edition published 1983), under the title "Buachaill Uí Néill".

Although many people sing "Buachaill on Éirne" in a slow mournful manner, the words always struck me as merry and boasting. The extra verses in Ó Muirgheasa put a different spin on the song as a couple of them regret the singer's licentious ways, "Murab é an t-ól bheadh cóta daite ar mo dhroim," (if it weren't for the drink I'd have a dyed coat on my back) and there are also lines which tell of longing for his dear.

Here follows the first verse (slightly different from the one you know) as published by Ó Muirgheasa and his notes on this song.

Buachaill Uí Néill mé a bhréagadh bruinneall deas óg,
Is tá an leabhar ar mo bhéal nach ndéanfaidh do mhalairt go deo; Is dá gcreidfí mo scéal ba liom féin an Contae Mhaigh Eo

"This is a very broken, battered song, but it is heard all over Ulster, and contains some very beautiful verses. It appears to be the lament of a wild reckless fellow of the O'Neill's who has lost the girl of his heart through his own folly, and who is beginning to see through the error of his ways, though yet unrepentant. The staple part of the song as given here was taken down by Seán Ó Grianna from Máire Ní Ghríanna of Rinn na Feirste in Donegal.

"I got a Co. Armagh version from a man, now deceased, called 'doctor' McKeown of Oough Rus near Crossmaglen, and a few verses from Andrew Markey of Dundalk, also a Co. Armagh man; while still another Co. Armagh version appeared in the 'Dundalk Democrat'.

"Verse VIII. is very common in Connacht: it will be found on page 20 of Dr Hyde's 'Love Songs of Connacht.' I struck two other verses out of Green's [Ó Grianna] copy, partly because they did not appear to belong to the song, and partly because the song is too long even without them."

Verse VIII is best-known to me as the first verse of 'Tá mé mo shuí'. For me, it is odd to see this verse as a floating verse because it is the predominant, focal verse of'Tá mé mo shuí' in which the singer sits in solitary thought while everyone else is asleep.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords Req: Boys of Ireland
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 03 Jun 02 - 01:29 PM

In "Ceolta Theilinn" (1973). Pádraig Mac Seáin writes that he personally knows five versions of "Buachaill ón Éirne" and that there are significant differences between them. The seven verses in the Teelin version published in this book includes the familiar ones (see link to Áines song pages) and a verse saying were it not for the drink he'd have a nice coat on his back.

Mac Seáin gives the well-known tune (which I believe is given at Mudcat DT for the more recently composed "Come By the Hills"). Ó Muirgheasa, unfortunately, does not supply airs in his books.

Subject: Lyr Add: BUACHAILL ON EIRNE
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 05 Jun 02 - 01:50 PM

It's about time we actually had the lyrics here at Mudcat. I have tried to keep these as close as I can to the way Liam Clancy sings Buachaill ón Éirne on his Vanguard album (has it been re-issued as a CD??). I don't recall other recordings, but as I said before I hear this song frequently and everyone sings the same version nowadays, it seems. Verse 2 is additional to the verses Liam Clancy recorded. The translation is from Áine Cooke, with a few modifications to bring it closer to a literal translation.

BUACHAILL ÓN ÉIRNE

Buachaill ón Éirne 's mé 's bhréagfainn féin cailín deas óg
Ní iarrfainn bó spré léithe; tá mé féin saibhir go leor
'S liom Corcaigh 'á mhéad é, dhá thaobh a' ghleanna 's Tír Eoghain
Mura n-athraí mé béasaí 's mé 'n t-oidhr' ar Chontae Mhaigh Eo

Rachaidh mé 'márach a dhéanamh leanna fán choill
Gan coite gan bád gan gráinnín brach' ar bith liom
Ach duilliúr na gcraobh mar éideadh leapa os mo chionn
'S óró sheacht mh'anam déag thú 's tú ' féachaint orm anall

Buachailleacht bó, mo leo, nár chleacht mé ariamh
Ach ar imirt 's ag ól le hóg-mhná deasa fán shliabh
Má chaill mé mó stór ní dóigh gur chaill mé mo chiall
'S ní mó liom do phóg ná an bhróg atá á caitheamh le bliain

A chuisle 's a stór ná pós an seanduine liath
Ach pós a' fear óg, mo leo, mura maire sé ach bliain
Nó beidh tú go fóill gan ua nó mac os do chionn
A shilfeadh na ndeor tráthnóna nó maidin go trom

Translation
I'm a boy from the Erne and I could charm a nice young girl
I would not ask for her wealth as I am rich enough myself
I own a good part of Cork, two sides of the glen in Tir Eoghainn
And if I don't change my ways, I'll be the heir of County Mayo

I will go tomorrow to make ale in the wood
Without a cot without a boat without a pinch of grain with me
But leaves of the branches as bedclothes over my head
And you my love [mo sheacht m'anam déag = my 17 souls] watching over me.

A cowherd, alas, I've never been accustomed to be
But I'd be playing and drinking with the pretty young women on the mountainside
If I lost my riches I don't think I lost my senses
And your kiss is no more to me now than a shoe worn for a year

My darling and my love, don't marry the grey old man
But marry a young man, even if he lives only for a year
Or you will be without a child or grandchild to succeed you
And you'd shed sorrowful tears night and morning .

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On Eirne
From: JedMarum
Date: 17 Jan 07 - 09:32 PM

lovely, but ... anyone have Buachaill on Eirne lyrics in phonetic gaelic?

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On Eirne
From: GUEST,Aoife Mac
Date: 03 Jul 08 - 07:51 AM

phonetic? i'll give it a go...

boookil own air-na mays brayg-hin cah-leen d'yass oag
nee eer-hin bow spray lay-hee taw may hayn sehvir guh l'yor
slum curkee daw vayd is gaw hayv ah glan-ass teer owe-in
iss mura nah-ree may baysee iss mayn tyre aer coontay wee oh.

rock-ig may maw-ruck ag dayna lanna fawn queel
gan quit-che gan bawd gan grawneen brack aer bih l'yum
ack dillayer nah grayeg mar ay-dee lapa owes muh k'yun
so-row h'yacht manam dayg huu stoog faykent uh-rum anon

bookaluckt bow mo l'yoe nawr klackt mish-ah ree-uv
ack egg ih-mirts egg oel leh hoeg-vanaw d'yasah faw h'leeuv
maw kyl may muh store nee mow-jeh gur kyl may muh keel
iss nee mow l'yum duh foeg nawn broeg at-awm egg kahiv le blee-un

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On Eirne
From: GUEST,Aoife Mac
Date: 03 Jul 08 - 11:14 AM

know it's not proper phonetic symbols and stuff, but whatever. i don't know how to do them. :)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On Eirne
From: Big Mick
Date: 03 Jul 08 - 11:17 AM

That is a very servicable phonetic for the person that is trying to sing it without knowing the language. It would be useful, if you want to sing a language, to familiarize yourself with the language. The ability to bring the song to life comes with the inflection, and the ability to use inflection comes from understanding the emotion and the language used to describe it.

Thanks, Aoife Mac.

Le gach dea-mhéin,      

Mick

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On E
From: Gulliver
Date: 03 Jul 08 - 09:23 PM

Gu h-onoh wah! Ogus vee may in on ey a lay-v!

Don

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On Eirne
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Aug 08 - 12:04 AM

This is an incredibly wonderful song.
I thank you all for your diligence in giving some history,context and pronunciation help to those of us who are not familiar with Irish.
What a magnificent language!
Thank you.
Steve from San Diego, writing from New York City.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On Eirne
From: Harpin Hank Hogan
Date: 01 Dec 09 - 11:41 PM

Hi Jed !
Thanks Aoife !

Hey Aoife - this is just what I was looking for !
Any chance you could help me out with Mna na hEireann ?

-- Hank Hogan

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On Eirne
From: GUEST,Melissa
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 10:07 PM

Does ANYONE know where I could find some sheet music for this? I know traditional tunes are often not written down, but I am desperate to find this song...my husband danced to it at our wedding, and I am not savvy enough to pick out the music by ear.
Please help!

~Melissa

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Boys of Ireland / Buachaill On Eirne
From: MartinRyan
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 04:49 AM

GUESTMelissa

The second posting on this thread gives a still-active link to a site which will give you some images, of varying quality, of the tune. Put "Buachaill on eirne" into the search box and browse,

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Buachaill On Eirne/"Boys of Ireland"
From: ard mhacha
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 05:55 AM

A lovely version of the somg by Marie Brennan,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iIGAfS3gBA&feature=related

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Buachaill On Eirne/"Boys of Ireland"
From: Jack Campin
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 06:37 AM

Or for some English words, try W. Gordon Smith's "Come By The Hills". The tune seems to have changed very slightly for that:

  X: 1
  T:Buachaill On Eirne
  T:Come By The Hills
  M:3/4
  L:1/4
  Q:1/4=140
  K:G
  z   |B> A B|A G E|D2  D|E G G|G2
  D   |G> A B|c B A|B2  G|B G B|A2
  d   |d> B A|G> AB|c d e|d B G|A2
  G/A/|B> A B|A G E|D2  D|E G G|G2|]

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Buachaill On Eirne / Boys of Ireland
From: GUEST,Mary
Date: 10 Oct 10 - 02:53 PM

Hi all, I am a bit rusty on my Gaeilge, but I would have translated the lyrics slightly differently.

In the 2nd verse where he says he will go "a deanamh leanna", I suggest it means he intends to go woo-ing, make love or make an offer of marriage. I think this also fits with the rest of the verse better where he refers to items that would be offered in marriage such as bedclothes, etc.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Buachaill On Eirne / Boys of Ireland
From: GUEST,Rowan
Date: 22 Feb 12 - 11:28 AM

I have a gorgeous 5-part a capella arrangement (SSATB) by Miguel Heatwole. When he taught it to us he explained that it's actually a song of the Irish resistance, but that resistance songs needed to be disguised, in this case as a love song. The young man is Ireland and the grey old man is England.

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Buachaill On Eirne / Boys of Ireland
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 23 Feb 12 - 08:38 AM

I don't think so, Rowan. The song seems to capture quite well the thinking of a young, amorous and not-too-sensible youth. (Read the English translation above about 'making ale' in the leafy woods.)

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Buachaill On Eirne / Boys of Ireland
From: MartinRyan
Date: 23 Feb 12 - 12:05 PM

Sometimes a cucumber is just a cucumber... ;>)>

Regards

Subject: RE: Lyr/Tune Req: Buachaill On Eirne / Boys of Ireland
From: Lighter
Date: 23 Feb 12 - 03:19 PM

Most academic literary critics have taught themselves that a cucumber is *never* just a cucumber.