Translation? 's fhada leam an oidche gheamraidh'

Subject: Lyr Add: 'S FHADA LEAM AN OIDCHE GHEMHRAIDH
From: Malachy
Date: 23 Nov 03 - 08:07 PM

Can anyone give me a translation for this D McLean song? My limited knowledge of Irish Gaelic hasn't helped me much.
Thanks in advance.
Malachy.

'S FHADA LEAM AN OIDCHE GHEMHRAIDH

's fhada leam an oidche gheamraidh
's fhada 's fhada 's fhada leam I
's nach fhaic mi ach preiridh lom ann
's cha chluinn tonn ri tigh'nn gu ann

CHORUS
O fali fali fali o ro
Fali fali fali o ro
Fali fali flai o ro 'S cian nan cian bho dh'fhag
mi Leodhas

'N am do'n fheasga a bhi ciaradh
'S tric a bhios mo spoirad cianail
Smaoineachadh g' eil cian nan cian uam
far 'm bu mhiann leam dhol a cheilidh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Irish)
From: Jim McLean
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 06:56 AM

I think this is Scottish Gaelic about someone who has left Lewis a long time ago and is feeling homesick.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Irish)
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 10:41 AM

There is a partial translation at Dougie MacLean's website: 'S fhada leam an oidche gheamraidh.

A limited knowledge of Irish Gaelic wouldn't be as helpful as it might be, since, as Jim points out, this is Scottish Gaelic. Perhaps whoever changed the thread title could amend it again?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Irish)
From: Pied Piper
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 11:57 AM

Alan Stivell recorded this song on "E Langonned" but I've not been able to find a translation on his site.

Good luck

PP

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Irish)
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 01:13 PM

something like "It's long with me, the winter night".
   I find the winter night long.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Irish)
From: GUEST,An Púca
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 03:17 PM

More literally than on the Dougie MacLean site Malcolm Douglas cited (!)

I find this winter's night long
I find it long, long, long
I see only a bare prairie
and I don't hear a wave coming in there.

Fali etc. ....
...It is a long, long time since I left Lewis.

The time of evening when darkness grows
The spirit is often melancholy
Thinking that it is far, far from me
The place where I would like to go to a céilidh

I am assuming that 'feasga' should read (or is a dialectal equivalent of) 'feasgar' for evening (= Latin 'vesper') and know of no other word "feasga".

Rendering the third line in the second quatrain "Thinking it is a long, long way from me" would retain the equivalence of "fada" to denote both distance and time in Gaelic.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Irish)
From: Malachy
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 05:22 PM

Thanks an Puca
Mal .

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Irish)
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 05:31 PM

oidhche gheamhraidh - as given in the verse is correct, not as spelled in the title
Malcolm and Púca have put you right as to the meaning of the lyrics
cian, cianail, cianalas have to do with homesickness, Leodhas is the isle of Lewis
I think that in this example, I'd just translate dol a ceilidh as go to visit

Subject: RE: 'S Fada Leam an Oidhche (Gaelic)
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 06:15 PM

although cìanalas does indeed mean homesickness, it can also refer to other forms of sadness and melancholy
cìan can mean sad but it can also refer to a long stretch of time. MacLennan's dictionary gives "gu cìan nan cìan" (the 'cìan' of the 'cìan') as "forever; a. tedious, long, dreary"

Subject: RE: 'S fhada leam an oidhche
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 06:53 PM

more verses and tune at alltandubh
Also recorded by Capercaillie on "The Blood is Strong album". The www.capercaillie.co.uk site gives lyrics for most of the group's recordings

I would still say "Is fada ..." though they lenite to "fhada" (the fh is silent)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Irish)
From: Bill D
Date: 24 Nov 03 - 08:56 PM

MANY other links to Gaelic songs and resources at that first link..
http://www.geocities.com/alltandubh/

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Scottish Gaelic)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Jun 04 - 02:50 AM

Per request, today's messages were moved to their own thread. Now, you'll find them in An t-Eilean Mu Thuath, a thread with a title more closely related to the title of the song.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Anyone translate? (Scottish Gaelic)
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 25 Jun 04 - 04:47 AM

Joe, you should have left one message on to clarify to readers of this thread what's going on! Basically, someone else asked for a translation of a song, but it is a different song from the one that one that was originally featured in this thread. Maybe that means that we need a new thread title here too, 's fhada leam an oidche gheamraidh (Gaelic & Eng translation)

Subject: RE: Translation? 's fhada leam an oidche gheamraidh'
From: Monique
Date: 21 Jul 11 - 03:36 PM

Step by step YouTube Lyrics and translation (#6)