Lyr Req: The Barge of Gorry Crovan / Gorrie Crovan

Subject: The barge of Gorry Crovan
From: TamthebamfraeScotland
Date: 11 Mar 01 - 05:12 AM

I'm looking for the words to a song called The barge of Gorry Crovan, if there's anyone out there who can help me I would be really grateful.

Tom

Subject: Birlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain/Barge of Gorrie Crovan
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 11 Mar 01 - 06:16 AM

Text in Duncan Johnston's original Gaelic (Birlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain) together with an English translation, may be seen in an archived discussion at  The Corries Discussion Forum

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The barge of Gorry Crovan
From: TamthebamfraeScotland
Date: 11 Mar 01 - 06:28 AM

Thank you Malcolm for that,

I did find the words there so Thanks again

Subject: Lyr Add: BÌRLINN GHORAIDH CHROBHAIN / THE BARGE OF
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 11 Mar 01 - 10:25 AM

BÌRLINN GHORAIDH CHROBHAIN	THE BARGE OF GORRIE CROVAN
(Donnachadh Mac Iain)	(Duncan Johnston)
Séist: Hòbhan na hòbhan hó, Hi horó na hubhan, Hòbhan na hòbhan hó, Air Bìrlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain  (1)	Chorus: Hòbhan na hòbhan hó, Hi horó na hubhan, Hòbhan na hòbhan hó, The barge of Gorrie Crovan
Fichead sonn air cùl nan ràmh, Fichead buille lùghmhor, Siùbhlaidh i mar eun a' snàmh, Is sioban thonn 'ga sgiùrsadh.	Behind the oars, a score so brave, A lusty score to row her, She sails away like bird on wave, While foaming seas lash o'er her.
Suas i sheòid air barr nan tonn! Sìos gu iochdar sùigh i! Suas an ceòl is togaibh fonn, Tha Mac an Rìgh 'ga stiùireadh!	Up she goes on ocean wave! Down the surge she wails O, Sing away; the chorus raise, A royal prince; he sails her!
A' Bhìrlinn Rìoghail, 's i a th' ann, Siubhal-sith 'na gluasad, Sròl is sìoda àrd ri crann, 'Si Bratach Olaibh Ruaidhe  (2)	The royal galley onward skims, With magic speed, she sails O, Aloft her silken bunting swims, Red Olav's Banner waving.
Dh' fhàg sinn Manainn  (3)  mór nan tòrr, Eirinn a' tighinn dlùth dhuinn, Air Ìle-an-Fheòir tha sinn an tòir Ged dh' éireas tonnan dubh-gorm.	The towers of Man we leave away, Old Erin's hills we hail O, On Islay's shore her course we lay Though billows roar and rave O.
Siod e 'nis-an t-eilean crom!  (4) Tìr nan sonn nach diùltadh, Stòp na dìbhe 'thoirt air lom 'S bìdh fleadh air bonn 'san Dùn  (5)  duinn!	See the island bent like bow, Where kindly souls await us; The Castle hall, I see it now, The feast's for us prepared O.

Gaelic and English texts by Duncan Johnston (Donnachadh Mac Iain), published in his book Cronan nan Tonn (The Croon of the Sea) 1938/9 and reprinted in 1997 by Dun Eisden of Inverness (ISBN: 1 872047 04 1).  These are his comments on the song:

"Theme - The passage of the royal galley from the Isle of Man to the Isle of Isla, 1095.

(1)  Godred, or Gorry Crovan was, according to the ancient sagas, the son of Harald the Black of Isla.  Tradition has it that his mother was a lady of the subdued House of Angus Beag, son of Erc, who occupied Isla in 498.  This explains his remarkable popularity with both the Norse and Celtic elements in the west.  His grand-daughter, Regnaldis (Raonaild), daughter of Olave the Red, afterwards married Somerled, who displaced Red Olave as King of the Isles.  Somerled founded the Dynasty of the Lords of the Isles, with its headquarters on an island on Loch Finlagan in Isla.  Godred was a celebrated warrior of the eleventh century.  He acted as Adjutant to the King of Norway at the battle of Stamford Bridge, 1066.  Escaping from that stricken field, he made his way to the Isle of Man, and thence to Isla, where he raised his standard.  The Norsemen and the Gaels alike flocked to his standard.  With a large force, he crossed over into the North of Ireland (Ulster), and carried everything before him up to the gates of Dublin, which City surrendered to him.  For a time, he waged a successful war against the King of Scotland.  In Isla he was spoken of with saintly reverence because of his prowess and dauntless gallantry in ridding the island of a huge saurian that had his lair near the present village of Bridgend.  Many of our Clans and their Septs of the west can claim descent from Godred.  The MacDougalls, MacDonalds, MacAllisters, MacRuaries, MacRanalds, MacIains, etc.  He died in Isla in 1095, and his grave is marked with a huge white boulder, known locally as "An Carragh Ban."  He founded the Dynasty of the Kingdom of the Isles, of Dublin and of Man.  He was succeded by his son King Lagman, who reigned at the time of the "Sack of Isla" by Magnus Barefoot .  Lagman was taken prisoner.  He latterly, after a short reign of seven years, embraced Christianity, abdicated in favour of his brother, Olave the Red, and went to Palestine to fight for the Holy Sepulchre.  He is buried at Jerusalem.

(2)  Olave the Red, third son of Godred Crovan, and father of the princess Regnaldis.

(3)  The Isle of Man.

(4)  Isla, so called in Fingalian Poetry. Approaching the island at dusk from the south, the skyline presents the appearance of a bent bow - "Tha e crom mar bhogha air ghleus."

(5)  Dunyveg or Dùn Naomhaig Castle, more properly, Dùn Aonghais Bhig, abbreviated "aobhaig." This was the House of Aengus, or Aonghas Beag, son of Erc, 498."


The above was transcribed from Johnston's book by somebody called Denis for the Corries Discussion Forum; he did not have accents available at the time, so I have restored these so far as my limited knowledge of Gaelic permits: any mistakes are mine.

Malcolm

Subject: Lyr Add: Birlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain
From: Genie
Date: 20 Nov 08 - 09:43 PM

Glad to find this thread with the lyrics to Birlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain.


I just found a recording of it on YouTube, performed by the wonderful - Robin Hall & Jimmy Macgregor

Birlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain / Hall and MacGregor

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Barge of Gorry Crovan / Gorrie Crovan
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 10:01 PM

YouTube has the Corries' recording of THE BARGE O' GORRIE CROVAN.

It also has BIRLINN CHORAIDH CHROBHAIN, sung by The Sound of Mull, a trio from Tobermory.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Barge of Gorry Crovan / Gorrie Crovan
From: Dave Rado
Date: 22 Jun 16 - 08:02 AM

I've just been listening to the recordings linked to from this thread, and with the exception of The Corries, all of them pronounce "hubhan," phonetically speaking, as if it were spelt "huvan" - but The Corries pronounce it, phonetically speaking, as if it were spelt "hovan." (So The Corries pronounce "hòbhan" and "hubhan" identically to each other, whereas none of the other singers do).

Are both pronunciations correct (e.g. due to different regional dialects of Gaelic) - or have the Corries mispronounced it?

Dave

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Barge of Gorry Crovan / Gorrie Crovan
From: Dave Rado
Date: 22 Jun 16 - 10:31 AM

Also, do the first three lines of the chorus have any meaning? If so, does anyone know why the English version of the song has those three lines in the original Gaelic?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Barge of Gorry Crovan / Gorrie Crovan
From: GUEST,ActiusAquila
Date: 12 Mar 19 - 04:24 AM

Maybe the opening three lines are just nonsense Gaelic words? I don't speak Gaelic but there are waulking songs with similar sounding words that don't actually mean anything- the way songs have "Ring-ding-diddle" or "whack-follol-de-rah"- they don't mean anything, they're just there to fit a rhythm. I don't think the Corries knew how to speak Gaelic, though. I've never seen either of them mention it.

Can someone who does speak Gaelic identify the correct pronounciation of "hòbhan"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Barge of Gorry Crovan / Gorrie Crovan
From: beachcomber
Date: 25 Oct 19 - 08:24 AM

Came upon this thread when searching for the song Birlinn Ghoraidh Chrobhain and as I did not see any really confident translation for the name "Chrobhain" I thought that it might be one of those Gaelic names that described some pecularity of the person.
We have had "of the Long Hand" , Of the Red Arm" , "Of the Hundred Battles" etc., so I wondered if some Scottish Gaelic scholar can tell if this name could be "Of the White Arm" ?
The song is beautiful, especially when sung in harmony as Hall & McGregor do it on their LP "THE NEXT TONIGHT WILL BE..." a CLP 1715 from EMI 1963.