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Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby

16 Feb 00 - 07:34 AM (#179294)
Subject: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,Cathy_Winton@hotmail.com

I have on CD a beautiful lullaby but no words. The chorus is along the lines of:

Hush now my dove hush now my robin Oh hush now my lapwing My little brown bird

but I can't make out the verses. I would love to sing this to my baby but am fed up of humming the verses and singing just the chorus - I'm sure he is as well. I can't find the words anywhere - HELP!

16 Feb 00 - 09:44 AM (#179329)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: wysiwyg

Hi Cathy. In case you aren't a frequent Mudcat visitor, I've sent you a long e-mail note of welcome. Be sure you check back here often to see if any replies have come in.

It may help those who help search for these requests to know more about the song and the CD-- titles of both, author of the lullaby, when written, etc., and where else you have already looked for the info.

Hope to see more of you at the 'Cat!

16 Feb 00 - 11:30 AM (#179394)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,Cathy_Winton@hotmail.com

Afraid I don't know anything more about the Lullaby. The CD was a freebie with a magazine so I don't know the author, when it was written, who publishes it or anything! I presume that it is a traditional folk lullaby as the other songs seem to be traditional lullabies. I'm sorry I can't be of more assistance

16 Feb 00 - 03:45 PM (#179542)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: wysiwyg

Thanks for coming back to look for results! Don't give up, the next Mudcatter to see it may know it!

You can bounce this back to the top so it will be seen as others log in, anytime, just by returning th this thread and typing [refresh] or anything else to re-post it.

I hope while you're waiting for this you are looking at all the other Mudcat resources. You may find some other new songs you like as well! Many of the songs in the Digital Tradtion and Forum databases include a way to hear the tune, too, and I bet you can find lots of lullabies.

16 Feb 00 - 05:07 PM (#179597)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,Neil Comer

I haven'y got the words, but I can give you some idea that it is probably a translation of Fuiseog bheag rua ( little red robin) a song in Manx Gaeilge

16 Feb 00 - 06:22 PM (#179652)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,bigJ

Well, I've just looked through 'Ree Ny Marrey' (Songs of the Isle of Man) - 'Manx Ballads And Music' - and listened to the Manx selection on Jill Rogoff's CD 'The Celtic Cradle' and still haven't come up with anything resembling the words that you quote. Bobby Bob is the man who might have the answer but he's in Belfast at the moment, I'll ask him when he gets back. The chorus as given doesn't suggest 'Ushag Veg Ruy' (Little Red Bird).

16 Feb 00 - 06:43 PM (#179667)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: John in Brisbane

There is a section of Manx songs in Kennedy's 'Songs of England and Ireland'. I'm fairly certain that Joe Offer has a copy. While the title doesn't ring any immediate bells with me it would be worth checking Kennedy - it's not a very large collection of Manx songs, but it has the original Manx Gaelic and English translations. Regards, John

16 Feb 00 - 06:50 PM (#179674)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,bigJ

Nope,'taint there either! (Kennedy that is).

16 Feb 00 - 09:02 PM (#179743)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: Malcolm Douglas

It's not in Kennedy.  "Gaeilge", by the way, is inappropriate when referring to Manx.

Malcolm

17 Feb 00 - 12:07 AM (#179844)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: alison

there is a mudcatter (can't remember the name) who speaks Manx (I think he lived on the Isle of Man too)...... anyone remember his name??.... he would probably know..

slainte

alison

17 Feb 00 - 12:10 AM (#179848)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: alison

His name was Bobby Bob, Ellan Vallen..../ try senidng a personal message...

slainte

alison

17 Feb 00 - 12:13 AM (#179850)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: alison

well it was worth a try... but he doesn't exist for personal messages.. maybe he changed his name....

slainte

alison

17 Feb 00 - 01:19 AM (#179867)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: wysiwyg

e-fresh

17 Feb 00 - 11:17 AM (#180026)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,Neil Comer

Malcolm, I use Gaeilge as a generic term to refer to Gaelg ( Manx); Gaidhlig ( Scots Gaeilge) and Gaeilge ( Irish). Sorry if I have offended.

17 Feb 00 - 11:33 AM (#180037)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,Neil Comer

I think that my original message needs clarification. I didn't mean that it was a literal translation ( Fuiseog Bheag Rua means little red lark) but I thought that it seemed quite similar. I'm sorry if my carelessness has caused any confusion

17 Feb 00 - 01:45 PM (#180136)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: Troll

Big J, tell BobbyBob that he can get free e-mail on tne Isle of Man on Yahoo. And Lias and I will see you all at Yn Chruinnacht in July. We'll be staying at the Viking in Ramsey for the whole month.

troll aka john the american

17 Feb 00 - 01:51 PM (#180139)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: Fortunato

Cathy,

What magazine? Issue?

babys love to be sung to now matter what the song. I sang Dark as A Dungeon to my kids as babes. (course they're a little depressed as teens.)

but if the magazine has a website we may be able to query them. We ain't nothin' if not resourceful round the mudcat hole.

and welcome, Fortunato

17 Feb 00 - 02:01 PM (#180148)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: wysiwyg

And generous

17 Feb 00 - 02:41 PM (#180166)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: Malcolm Douglas

Neil:

Sorry!  I was having a pedantic moment, but I'm better now...

All the best

Malcolm

17 Feb 00 - 02:55 PM (#180175)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: Troll

bigJ; Do you play the squeezbox by any chance?

troll

18 Feb 00 - 05:54 AM (#180591)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,Torquil

Sounds like you know Manx and probably a lot of songs, but it struck me that what you had was similar to "The song of the travelling fairies" or "Arrane ny sheeaghyn troailtagh".

It is a lullaby with hushing in it and it the version an an OAK publication of "Folksongs of Britain and Ireland" includes falcon, blackbird, wren etc. It could be a variant of that.

18 Feb 00 - 01:34 PM (#180794)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,bigJ

Troll, look forward to seeing you - and yes!

18 Feb 00 - 03:41 PM (#180855)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,Bobby Bob, Ellan Vannin

It doesn't ring any great bells with me, I'm afraid, but that won't stop me from a long and boring posting!

It doesn't seem to be Ushag Veg Ruy (Little russet bird) or Arrane y Lhondoo (Song of the Blackbird). I think GUEST, Torquil may be right about Arrane ny Sheeaghyn Troailtagh. This was the version from Mona Douglas:

1. V'ad oie ayns y Ghlion dy Ballacomish,
Jannoo yn lhondoo aynshen e hedd.

Chorus (at the end of verses 1, 2 and 3):
Chaddil oo lhiannoo, hig sheeaghyn troailtagh orrin!
Bee dty host nish, ta mee geamagh er'n ushag.

2. V'ad oie ayns Glion Rushen dy reagh ny sleityn,
Jannoo y shirragh aynshen e hedd.

3. V'ad oie er ny creggyn Kione y Spaainagh,
Jannoo yn foillan aynshen e hedd.

4. Hig ad gys Gordon, agh aynshen, cooie,
Jannoo yn dreean veg e hedd.
Chaddil oo lhiannoo, ny gow jee aggle ad hene.
Bee dty host nish, ta mee geamagh er'n ushag.

I would have to say that the above words contain grammatical 'idiosyncrasies' that I would typically associate with Mona. In literal translation:

1. They were a night in the glen of Ballacomish,
There the blackbird makes her nest.

Chorus (after verses 1, 2 and 3):
Sleep thou, baby, the travelling 'fairy folk' will come to us!
Be quiet now, I'm calling the birdie.

2. They were a night in Glen Rushen to clear the mountains,
There the hawk makes her nest.

3. They were a night in the rocks of Spanish Head,
There the seagull makes her nest.

4. They'll come to Gordon, but there, naturally,
The wren will make no nest.
Sleep thou, baby, don't be afraid of Themselves.
Be quiet now, I'm calling the birdie.

Ballacomish, Glen Rushen, Spanish Head and Gordon are all place names in Mann.

In 'Mona Douglas / A Tribute' compiled by Fenella Crowe Bazin, we find this (p. 21):

"She [Mona] had also been in correspondence with Miss A G Gilchrist of Lancaster, who had published three major articles in the EFDS [English Folk Dance Society] Journals of 1924-26. A letter dated March 14th, 1925 confirms that Mona had contributed som of the songs, albeit in some cases anonymously. Perhaps a glimmer of the reason for that appears in another letter, this time from W Walter Gill who, writing to Mona, notes that 'As I have filled out the 'Scotch tune', the temporary words I had made for it no longer fit, so you can have them'.

In the glen of Ballacomish
Where those little birdies sing,
There they found a lullaby with local colour
For the Folksong Journal in the Spring.

In the house of William Cubbon,
Where those cradles used to swing,
There they faked a folksong for a little hoax on
Miss Gilchrist's Manx number in the spring.

This is the Mudcat midi text of it (if you can send out what you have in this format, we could take a listen and see what it is) -

MIDI file: sheetro.mid

Timebase: 96

TimeSig: 3/4 24 8
Key: D
Tempo: 120 (500000 microsec/crotchet)
Start
0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 64 080 0096 0 64 000 0000 1 66 080 0096 0 66 000 0000 1 67 080 0096 0 67 000 0000 1 69 080 0096 0 69 000 0000 1 71 080 0096 0 71 000 0000 1 72 080 0096 0 72 000 0000 1 74 080 0096 0 74 000 0000 1 76 080 0096 0 76 000 0000 1 76 080 0096 0 76 000 0000 1 69 080 0096 0 69 000 0000 1 71 080 0096 0 71 000 0000 1 62 080 0192 0 62 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 64 080 0096 0 64 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 59 080 0096 0 59 000 0000 1 62 080 0192 0 62 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 62 080 0288 0 62 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 64 080 0096 0 64 000 0000 1 66 080 0096 0 66 000 0000 1 64 080 0096 0 64 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 71 080 0096 0 71 000 0000 1 71 080 0096 0 71 000 0000 1 72 080 0096 0 72 000 0000 1 71 080 0096 0 71 000 0000 1 67 080 0096 0 67 000 0000 1 64 080 0096 0 64 000 0000 1 62 080 0288 0 62 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 64 080 0096 0 64 000 0000 1 66 080 0096 0 66 000 0000 1 64 080 0096 0 64 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 62 080 0096 0 62 000 0000 1 64 080 0192 0 64 000 0000 1 64 080 0048 0 64 000 0000 1 64 080 0048 0 64 000 0000 1 66 080 0048 0 66 000 0000 1 66 080 0240 0 66 000
End

This program is worth the effort of learning it.

To download the March 10 MIDItext 98 software and get instructions on how to use it click here

ABC format:

X:1
T:
M:3/4
Q:1/4=120
K:D
D2E2F2|G2A2B2|=c2d2e2|e2A2B2|D4D2|E2D2B,2|
D4D2|D6|D2E2F2|E2D2D2|B2B2=c2|B2G2E2|D6|D2E2F2|
E2D2D2|E4EE|FF5||

09 Oct 10 - 02:33 AM (#3003039)
Subject: Lyr Add: A MANX LULLABY
From: Monique

Though the request is 10 years old, here are the lyrics

A MANX LULLABY

Chorus:
O hush you my baby, O hush you my love:

When lilacs are lush and bees in the blossom,
When cuckoos are calling and blackbirds do sing;
O sleep in your silence, babe of my bosom,
As through the green boughs your cradle I swing.

O smile in your sleeping, my beautiful baby,
Although our ship's rocking and waves they rise high;
Far o'er the wild water, wherever our way be,
O child of my heart, 'tis safe you shall lie.

On green hills afar the shadows they darken,
The moon's silver cradle is shining above;
Within it I'll lay you, and there you shall hearken
The songs that the stars sing, O child of my love.

09 Oct 10 - 02:57 AM (#3003045)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: Monique

Oops! hit the wrong key!

So... I took the lyrics from Canasg Music.

Below is another version "Arrane ny Clean" that I found here. This pdf document has a sheet music and an explanation of the Manx line ("Horo hi ri ri" is a cooing sound meant to soothe a restless child. Pronunciation:"Ho ro hee ree ree". "Cadul gu lo" means "sleep on". Pronunciation: "Cajool goo low")
Another sheet music there

ARRANE NY CLEAN

Oh hush thee my dove, oh hush thee my rowan,
Tine oh hush thee my lapwing my little brown bird.
Oh hush thee my dove, oh hush thee my rowan,
oh hush thee me lapwing my little brown bird.

Oh fold thy wings and seek thy nest now,
Oh shine the berry on the bright tree.
The bird is home from the mountain and valley.
Oh ho-ro hi ri ri Ca-dul-gu-lo
Oh ho-ro hi ri ri Ca-dul-gu-lo

(oh-ho-ro-hee-ree-ree ca-jewl-goo-lo)

YouTube

31 Mar 12 - 07:32 PM (#3331773)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Manx Lullaby
From: GUEST,Maureen from Cheshire UK

Cdul Gu Lo is Scottish not Manx, It is a lullaby written by Sir Walter Scott, in English it is called, Lullaby to an infant chief. Here are the words:

Oh, hush thee, my baby, thy sire was a Knight,
Thy mother a Lady, both lovely and bright;
The woods and the glens, from the towers which we see,
They are all belonging, dear baby to thee.
Oh ho ro i ri ri, Cadul gu lo,
Oh ho ro i ri ri, Cadul gu lo.

Oh fear not the bugle, tho' loudly it blows,
It calls thus the warders, that guard thy repose;
Their bows would be bended, their blades would be red,
Ere the step of a foeman, draws near to thy bed.
Oh ho ro i ri ri, Cadul gu lo,
Oh ho ro i ri ri, Cadul gu lo.

Oh hush thee my baby, the time will soon come,
When thy sleep will be broken, by trumpet and drum,
Then hush thee my darling, take rest while ye may,
For strife comes with manhood, and waking with day.
Oh ho ro i ri ri, Cadul gu lo,
Oh ho ro i ri ri, Cadul gu lo.
_____________________________________________________

"Oh ho ro i ri ri," is just a soothing sound pronounced " Ho ro hee ree ree" and "Cadul gu lo" means " Keep sleeping, or Sleep on."


Hope this helps, wish I'd seen this posting before.

Maureen from Cheshire, UK