Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!

Subject: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Quincy
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 10:15 AM

Help please!!

I've two friends getting married in May, one is from Uist and she wants a suitable Scots/Gaelic song played as she goes up the aisle!

Unfortunately, all that she's found so far are the mournful, sad songs about losing a love, being parted by sea etc. etc. Alternatively, she has come across some lilting jig types which, although cheerful, she can't imagine skipping up to the altar!!! It'll be on a tape or cd so no need for sheet music or tabs etc. And there's also no need of literal translation as long as she knows the story of the song.

Any help would be appreciated as the wedding is fairly soon.

Many thanks, best wishes, Yvonne

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: MMario
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 10:23 AM

What about "Mairi's Wedding" in the gaelic?

see here

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From:
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 10:56 AM

That's about the only one posted readily. e-mail me on the subject, please Yvonne. I'll have more suggestions for you at home.

One is about Johnny's sister. Quite humourous. Are these people knowing the Gaelic? IF so, perhaps not that one.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Heely
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 11:17 AM

"The Water is Wide" is lovely, and is adapted for church hymns. Also, the pipe tunes "Highland Cathedral" and "Highland Wedding" are lovely processional and recessional. "Bheir me O" is a gorgeous tradition love song, and it is stately enough to halt step to. My suggestion is to get the serious stuff over with quickly and enjoy the lively jigs at the reception.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From:
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 10:07 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, Heely.

The Water is Wide isn't Gaelic, and I haven't come across a Gaelic version.

Bheir Mi O, in Gaelic, is great, unless you sing the Ishbell MacAskill version. The Gaelic version I do, actually ends with the verse about "Although we aren't married, I still hope we yet will be.

Ho Ro Mo Nighean Donn Bhoidheach is one I think is suitable. The Rankin Family sing it slowly as a waltz. It makes a great first dance.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Ken Wood
Date: 22 Mar 02 - 11:46 PM

I just wrote a song entitle AnamCara (Gaelic for "SoulMate"). It was written for a wedding. I have a tape of it that I could send you.

Write me at [e-mail] if you are interested.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: ciarili
Date: 23 Mar 02 - 02:45 AM

I don't know why people always think of The Water Is Wide - does anybody pay attention to the words?! It's about Broken Love!! It's like that Sting song that everybody assumes is about love, the one that says, "Oh, don't you see, you belong to me." If you listen to it, it quickly becomes clear that it is about borderline-pathelogical jealousy! Not that there isn't a really stupid attempt to make TWIW into a wedding song with lines like,

When Love explodes and fills the sky...."

I'm a cantor. I actually had to sing that, and the mere memory of it serves to make my want to hurl. For anyone with an ounce of curiosity, go ahead and look at The Water Is Wide. It MUST be in the database, and plugging it into google.com works just fine as well.

If you want Gaelic wedding suggestions, go to google.com and plug scottish and wedding in. In my rambles 'round the net I must have come across half a dozen sites all about it. And if you choose to have Gaelic songs at your wedding, go ahead and find out what they mean, you don't want to make that Sting/TWIW mistake! If she comes from Uibhist, somebody in her family is probably a speaker, and be assured, NOTHING is more important to a Gael than poetry.

George is a great guy for suggestions. If anything floats through my head, I'll add it here as well.

Best Wishes to the Bride,

ciarili

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Quincy
Date: 23 Mar 02 - 05:01 AM

Thanks all for your helpful suggestions MMario, Heely and ciarili...will pass them on to the bride.

Thanks also George and Ken, will e-mail you later today,

very best wishes, Yvonne

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From:
Date: 23 Mar 02 - 05:23 AM

I once found an 8 verse version of the Water is Wide on the 'net, and if you pick and choose out of those eight, you can get four which works for a wedding. Two of them are the common ones we see, The Water is Wide verse, and the one about the ship sailing on the ship.

Will have to look it up again.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From:
Date: 23 Mar 02 - 11:48 AM

Yvonne! I think I've got the perfect one.

A Mhàiri Bhàn Òg was written by one of the BEST of the bards, Duncan BÀn Mac an-t-Saor (Duncan Ban MacIntyre). He wrote it on the occasion of his marriage to Mary, with whom he lived to a ripe old age. It's a wonderful song, and a beautiful tune.

It is often played slowly so you could use it as a processional. It's popular enough to be played by both fiddlers and pipers alike. Currently I don't know of a recording with the song itself, but there are a number of recordings of it as an instrumental.

Are you looking for it as a song to be sung while she processes? Or as a tune?

Since she is from Uist, does she want a more Uist specific song? If so, I can as some of my friends from there, but would have to know whether she is from North or South Uist.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Quincy
Date: 23 Mar 02 - 12:17 PM

E-mails sent to Ken and George......thanks all so much!!

regards, Yvonne

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: ciarili
Date: 23 Mar 02 - 02:40 PM

Please, still don't do The Water Is Wide. Anybody who knows the song will know the verses you want to leave out, and therefore it's still a lousy choice! I absolutely cringe when I hear it, and so do a number of people I know who sing. I would shoot somebody for that if it were my wedding, but hey, that's me....

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 23 Mar 02 - 05:51 PM

there's a tune called "St Kilda Wedding"
I forget the name, but there's one that starts "Bidh Clan Ulaidh aig do bhanais" which Christine Primrose sings.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 17 Dec 02 - 12:11 PM

I turned on tv and a film "SoI married an axe murderer" was playing It was the wedding scene and my attention was caught by the Scottish kilts (the groom's parents were Scots) and the tune playing. The song I know to that air is "Is truagh nach d'rugadh dall mi"; you might be more familiar with the chorus

Fill ò rò fill ò rò fill ò rò hug eile,
Fill ò rò fill ò rò fill ò rò hug eile,
Air fal il ill ò agus hò rò hug eile,
Chan fhaigh mi cadal sàmhach, a ghràidh, 's gun thu rèidh rium.

See the rest at http://www.geocities.com/alltandubh/I/Is_Truagh.html

I don't think the words are suitable for a wedding. It is a love song, but a sad one.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 17 Dec 02 - 12:16 PM

It was customary for suitors to compose (or adapt) songs as a way of courting; I've met elderly women who tell of songs composed for them

"orò is toil leam fhín thu" as recorded by Mary Jane Lamond is a courting song which she reports was successful (the couple did marry)

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Dec 02 - 12:11 PM

the http://www.geocities.com/alltandubh/I/Is_Truagh.html page has audial also = click on "fonn" (tune).
http://www.geocities.com/alltandubh is a good store of Gaelic language songs

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,AT
Date: 25 Feb 04 - 08:44 AM

Try "Aig Posadh Piuthar Iain Bhan" usually has the gaidhlig audience in stitches

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,AT
Date: 25 Feb 04 - 09:25 AM

This is a fantastic Runrig song for Scots/Gaelic weddings. I enclose the gaelic and English (mistakes are 100% mine) I think the lyrics are a fair representation of what's ahead!
The Cycle of the Ocean/ Cearcall a'Chuain

We are all upon the Ocean
Steering our course through life
Sailing a mysterious boat
Lost in the grasp of the Ocean
With the wind at our back
The boat maintains its course
And neither time nor the sea
Will fright us from our wits nor support us

The Sea is calm
She is wild,         She is wide
She is beautiful         She is forsaken
She is spiteful                 and profound
O But we, we are blind
There is nothing belongs to us but Life
Hoist the sail! Lift the oars!
Till we find our headway in it

But it is my hope, it is my hope
That when the Sun goes down
They will see me steering for the West
Over to Uist on the circle
The Circle of the Sea
Forever will she turn in my favour
To the fair lands of the West
Where does the day not begin?


Cearcall a' Chuain

Tha sinn uile air cuan
Stuireadh cuairt troimh ar beatha
A' seoladh gheola dorch'
Air chall an greim na mara
Tha a ghaoth air ar cul
Tha a'gheol a cumhail roimhe
S'cha dean uair no an cuan
Tonaisg dhuinn no rian

A mhuir tha i ciuin
Tha i fiadhaich    tha i farsuinn
Tha i alainn                 tha i diamhair
Tha i gamhlasach                 is domhain
O ach sinn, tha sinn dall
S'chan eil again ach beatha
Tog an seol, Tog an ramh
Gus an fhaigh sinn astar ann

Ach tha mi'n duil, tha mi'n duil
Nuair a bhios a'ghrian dol fodha
Chi iad mi a stuireadh an Iar
Null a dh'Uibhist air a' chearcall
Cearcall a chuain
Gu brath bidh i a' tionndadh
Leam gu machair geal an Iar
Far an do thoisich an La

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Dec 09 - 03:58 AM

Could you please provide a rough translation of this song? The reason I ask is that the first time I heard it was from the Rankin family. I fell in love with the song and sang it to my son when he was fussing and needed to go to sleep. I was living in Nova Scotia at the time. My parents came out to visit me when my son was 2 months old. When my father heard me singing, he started to cry. No, not because I don't sing well.lol I asked him what was wrong and he said that his mother used to sing it to him when he was a little guy. My Granny died in 1962 and I was born in 1970, so it wasn't as if she'd passed it on. My father has since passed and it would be nice to know what Granny and I were singing to our boys. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Laurie

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Bonnie Shaljean
Date: 27 Dec 09 - 05:43 AM

I know this is years too late, but since it's relevant to the original question, it's worth passing on for anyone who may have a similar need and is checking this thread:

Take a look at The Delting Bridal March, which is in James Hunter's The Fiddle Music Of Scotland. In a note at the back, he writes, "Delting is the district on mainland Shetland between Olna Firth and Dales Voe. It was long the custom at weddings in Shetland for fiddlers to lead the bridal party to and from the church."

It's a 6/8 march, so it has a lovely swingy rhythm, and - as befits a joyful occasion - is in a major key.

I'm sorry I can't help with Laurie's request, but someone undoubtedly will sooner or later, and this at least pushes it back to the top!

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Jack Campin
Date: 27 Dec 09 - 06:50 AM

Shetland bridal marches are even less Gaelic than "The Water is Wide".

A quick look through Anne Lorne Gillies's book Songs of Gaelic Scotland (2006) doesn't turn up much. One worth trying might be "'S i Morag a rinn a' bhannais" (It was Morag who had the wedding), which was recorded by Christine Primrose on Àite mo Ghaoil and Tannas on Rù-rà.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 27 Dec 09 - 07:10 AM

...Shetland bridal marches are even less Gaelic than "The Water is Wide"...

true Jack, but at a (presumably) American wedding, there wouldn't be too many members of the TMSA sitting around taking notes during the bride's arrival. As long as the melody sounds the part, and suits the bride's pace, that's really all that matters.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 27 Dec 09 - 07:17 AM

Bonnie - but which song is Laurie Guest referring to? it doesn't appear in her post?

Laurie - which song? you don't say

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: stallion
Date: 27 Dec 09 - 08:09 AM

Cailin Mo ruinsa - The maid i adore

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 27 Dec 09 - 11:05 AM

You couldn't have the bride going up the aisle to Cailin Mo Ruinsa, or any other 3/4 tune for that matter.

I would suggest Da Slockit Light as a very suitable melody for the bridal entrance. (Although why we are still discussing this beats me, the bride in question has been wedded and bedded these past 7 years ...)

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 27 Dec 09 - 02:43 PM

lol Murray!!

I wonder what they chose? they never came back to tell us.......

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Safaia
Date: 21 Jan 10 - 12:07 PM

I'm fluent in gadhlig and one of my favourite songs is 'Saoil a mhor' It is a lovely wedding song.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 22 Jan 10 - 11:58 AM

anyone have info on "Aig Posadh Piuthar Iain Bhan" mentioned above, lyrics and/or recordings?

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Isabelle
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 08:26 AM

I'm looking for info too... particularly the gaelic lyrics. Apparently it's a very old air appearing in Patrick MacDonald's Collection of Highland Aire 1784. Malcolm Macfarlane wrote new lyrics in Gaelic, which were later translated by Alexander Stewart into "My ain Hoose", which is in various collections (incl. the Scottish Orpheus vol. 3). But I'd love to find the original....

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: MAG
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 08:51 AM

While we're on Mairi's Wedding, can anyone tell me the correct pronunciation of Mairi?

I'm also having a "discussion" with a friend about which half of the tune is for verse, and which for chorus ---

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 20 Jun 10 - 05:32 PM

Isabelle, I'm a first time visitor to this website and I've spotted your post from 2 years ago regarding a song which includes " He cut me up with a knife and fork and tied me to a cabbage stalk .." I know the song very well (with some variety in the lyrics) and have been trying to find someone else who does (on Yahoo Answers, etc). Can you email me? ('[e-mail]') Chris

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jun 10 - 11:44 AM

MAG-- Mairi is pronounced "MAH-ree" (accent on the first syllable) unless it's being sung by someone from the Isle of Lewis, in which case I've sometimes heard it pronounced more like "MAH-thee."

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Cuilionn
Date: 22 Jun 10 - 08:48 AM

Sorry-- "Guest" was me. Where'd my biscuit go?

--Cuilionn

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: MAG
Date: 22 Jun 10 - 01:55 PM

Thank you, Cuilionn -- always glad to make sure I'm singing this right.

I know lowland Scots is from the Germanic family' is highland and other gaelic tongues their own language group?

TIA, MAG

great thread. my little band does weddings.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Lenition in Gaelic
Date: 24 Jun 10 - 06:25 PM

Except when the name is lenited it is spelled A Mhairi and it's pronounce more like "ah vah ree"

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: MAG
Date: 25 Jun 10 - 11:17 AM

while we're on the subject (sorry for thread creep,) how does one pronounce Maire Brennan's first name?

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Alltandubh
Date: 21 Jul 10 - 06:47 PM

If Philippa above (or anyone else) is still looking for verses to "Pòsadh Piuthar Iain Bhàin", you can find some of them here at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/alba/oran/orain/posadh_piuthar_iain_bhain/

If anyone happens to need the rest of the words, just send an e-mail to me at [e-mail] and I'll try to rouse myself to type them out for you.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Murray on Saltspring
Date: 30 Sep 10 - 02:26 AM

Does anyone have any information on the "other" Mairi's Wedding song, that goes something like "Oovy ahvy oovy ahvy,dancing at the clachan inn"? It's been recorded by Norma Munro as "Mairi's Wedding", which is confusing because she's also recorded the Roberton song under that title.

Subject: RE: Scottish Gaelic Wedding Songs please!!!
From: GUEST,Murray on Saltspring
Date: 04 Oct 10 - 01:22 AM

Refresh

Subject: More on Pòsadh Piuthar Iain Bhàin
From: GUEST,formerly OtherDave
Date: 09 Nov 21 - 05:28 PM

This is a comic song about the wedding (pòsadh) of the sister (piuthar) of Fair John.

You can find many verses in Gaelic in this 330 page PDF:
https://electricscotland.com/gaelic/transactions10gaeluoft.pdf

This is volume X of the transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, Scotland. The lyrics are on page 265, dated 25 April 1883, giving some idea of how far back the song goes.

I haven't found a translation but wrestled with my tiny store of Gaelic and a lot of help from An Faclair Beag, the online dictionary. So this is a very free translation but I think it captures the spirit.

There's a version on YouTube, dated 2013:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOXIhGk6Gko, which looks like an LP featuring Donald Ross, William Burnett, Simon Thoumire. The YouTube version don't match the verses I've put here.


I hiù ro hò, i ho ro hò
Nis cuiridh mi luinneag an òrdugh dhuibh.
I hiù ro hò, i ho ro hò
Air pòsadh piuthar Iain Bhàin.

** (First and third lines of the sèist [chorus] are vocables, like Gaelic tra la la)
** Now I'll make a proper song for you
** About the wedding of Iain Bhàin's sister.

Nuair chaidh sinn a-mach ris na h-aonaichean,
Bha ceò, bha sneachda, bha gaoth againn,
'S bha sinne cho geal ris na faoileagan
Air pòsadh piuthar Iain Bhàin.

** When we headed out to the steep places
** There was fog, there was snow, there was wind (we had) *
** And we were as white as seagulls
** At the wedding of Iain Bhàin's sister.

* "Againn," literally at-us, is used for possession, but I feel that the meaning is "what there was [what we had was] fog, and snow, and rain."

Nuair ràinig sinn urad bha an oidhche againn,
Taigh fada gun solas gun soills' againn,
Chan fhaigheamaid fiù na coinnlearan,
Bh' aig pòsadh piuthar Iain Bhàin.

** When we first (finally) got there, it was night we had
** A long house without light, without brightness we had
** We couldn't even get candlesticks (candles?)
** At the wedding of Iain Bhàin's sister.

Ach marbhphaisg air an fhear-chiùil a bh' ann,
'S cha b' fheàrr dad idir an t-ùrlar a bh' ann,
Dol fodha gu ruige nan glùinean ann,
Aig pòsadh piuthar Iain Bhàin.


** A curse on the musician there
** And the floor was no good at all
** Sinking to your knees
** At the wedding of Iain Bhàin's sister.

( "an t-ùrlar, of (the) floor" is almost certainly a pun. It means flooring, like a dance floor; but it can also mean the theme of a piece of music -- in a sense, "the beat of the music was bad, and the floor was pretty beat up, too")

Am beagan a bha de na h-uaislean ann,
Chan itheadh iad nì le uaibhreachas,
'S mun tàinig a' mhadainn bu truagh leibh iad,
Aig pòsadh piuthar Iain Bhàin.


** Some of the gentry were there
** Not eating a thing, out of pride
** In case by morning they'd be miserable
** At the wedding of Iain Bhàin's sister.

(They weren't eating because they didn't want to get sick, that was the kind of food we had)

Ach chuireadh gu grad ann an ordugh sinn,
‘Us shuidh sinn ‘n ar prasgan mu’n bhord a bh’ann
‘S bha droch mhac-na-bracha ga ol again,
Aig posadh piuthar Iain Bhain.

** Oh, as soon as we got settled
** And were sitting in a gang around a table
** Then, bad single-malt drink appeared on it
** At the wedding of Iain Bhàin's sister.