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James
| Posted on Monday, August 05, 2002 - 02:55 pm: |
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I'm trying to get the gist of this song. I know it has to do with the freedom struggle but I can't get the words completely worked out. Any help would be appreciated. PLEASE--DON'T GIVE A TRANSLATION FOR THE ENTIRE SONG!!!! I'm trying to work this out on my own. Just advise/correct what I've done so far. Óró sé do bheatha 'bhaile ???????? "home life?" 'Nios ar theacht an tsamhraidh Now is the arrival of the summer Sé do bheatha bhean léanmhar bá é ár gcreadh Your life is a sorrowful woman liking our plunder????? Tu bheith i ngeibheann You will be in captivity/bondage/need?? Do dhuiche bhreá i seilibh meírleatch 'stu diolta leis na Galla Your fine native land in the possession of theives ('stu??) veangance against the foreigner Tá Grainne Mhaol ag teacht thar sáile The bare sun arrives over the sea water oglaigh armtha léi mar gharda Armed volunteers with her like a guard Gaeil iad fein is ní Gaill ná Spáinnigh Irishmen themselves (?????) the Spanish (my guess is this is a typo) Is cuirfidh siad ruaig ar Gallaibh They will put (place) in(?) Galway I know I've run the risk of a word for word translation but I think get the "feeling" of what's being said here. I'm just having trouble with some of the words. I don't know if there are idiomatic expressions or literary contractions but some of it just isn't making sense. Go raibh mile maith agaibh mar do cúnamh! Le meas, James |
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Larry
| Posted on Tuesday, August 06, 2002 - 12:18 am: |
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James, a chara, Let me tease you a little here, okay? It's quite possible that I'm wrong here, but I think the title of the song is actually "Óro, 's é do bheatha 'bhaile" Does that help any? Le meas, Larry. |
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Aonghus
| Posted on Tuesday, August 06, 2002 - 04:35 am: |
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James - you need to take two lines at a time as sentences to get the sense. "Sé do bheatha" is a phrase meaning something like Hail! Sé do bheatha 'bhaile is Sé do bheatha abhaile = welcome home Gall are foreigners, Gallaibh is the plural. Gall usually means the English "Is" is a contraction of "agus" Óglaigh means armed youths - it became volunteers in the current sense later. Grainne Mhaol is Grace O'Malley; a famous Mayo chieftainess around the time of Elisabeth the I. Her name is used to symbolise Ireland here. Ireland is frequently symbolised by a woman in these kinds of songs. Have another go with those hints! |
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James
| Posted on Tuesday, August 06, 2002 - 01:11 pm: |
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You guys are great!! Óró sé do bheatha 'bhaile Óró (???) Welcome home! 'Nios ar theacht an tsamhraidh Summer is now arriving Sé do bheatha bhean léanmhar bá é ár gcreadh Hail, sorrowful woman (liking our plunder?????) Tu bheith i ngeibheann You will be in captivity? Do dhuiche bhreá i seilibh meírleatch 'stu diolta leis na Galla Your fine native land in theives' possession ('stu - agus = tu??) veangance against the foreigner Tá Grainne Mhaol ag teacht thar sáile Grace O'Malley arrives over the sea water oglaigh armtha léi mar gharda Armed youths (volunteers) with her like a guard Gaeil iad fein is ní Gaill ná Spáinnigh Irishmen themselves (?????) it's not the Spanish (my guess is this is a typo) Is cuirfidh siad ruaig ar Gallaibh They will put the foreigner to the chase. Go raibh mile maith agat, mo chairde. I'm still having problems with some of this and the next stanza is even worse! Le meas, Frustrachas agam! James |
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Aonghus
| Posted on Wednesday, August 07, 2002 - 04:31 am: |
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Sé do bheatha, a bhean ba léanmhar Hail, suffering woman bá é ár gcreach It was our ruin Tú bheith i ngeibheann that you were in captivity Gaeil iad fein is ní Gaill ná Spáinnigh They are Gaels, and not French or Spanish (bit of history required for the shift in the meaning of Gall!) Do dhuiche bhreá i seilibh meírleach 's tú diolta leis na Galla Your fine lands in rebels hands, and you sold to the Gall 's is a contraction of agus |
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James
| Posted on Wednesday, August 07, 2002 - 03:53 pm: |
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Sé do bheatha, a bhean ba léanmhar Aonghus, a chara, I really appreciate your help on this. I've got most of it but I need some clarification on other issues. I don't know if I'm missing the idiomatic nature of the language or if I'm just plain slow. I've broken your response down into sections and addressed my confusion for each. 1. Hail, suffering woman . Got it. makes perfect sense to me. 2. bá é ár gcreach = It was our ruin. This one I can't quite get my feeble brain to comprehend. My dictionary lists bá as drowning, immersion, inundation, liking, sympathy and a couple of other things that just don't mesh. Is bá a form of bí in this case? 3. Tú bheith i ngeibheann = that you were in captivity I know bheith as the verbal noun of bí. How does it fit with the translation "that you were...." 4. Gaeil iad fein is ní Gaill ná Spáinnigh They are Gaels, and not French or Spanish (bit of history required for the shift in the meaning of Gall!) I think I've got this one. Gaill = Gaul, an early name for the region we now call France. In the context of this song reference is being made to the repeated promise of the two prominent Catholic European nations (France and Spain)to come to the aid of Catholic Ireland. Help which, when it did arrive (more often did NOT arrive)was too little, too late. 5. Do dhuiche bhreá i seilibh meírleach 's tú diolta leis na Galla Your fine lands in rebels hands, and you sold to the Gall meírleach = thief or outlaw in my dictionary and ceannairceach = rebel. Can you clarify? Do I need a new dictionary!?! I suspected the "'s" was agus but it appears as 'stu as written in the text. You confirmed my suspicion that it should have been agus tu or 's tu. They also left a fada off of díolta. My dictionary lists dioltas as veangance or revenge but lists díol (note the fada) as the verb "sell". Small ommissions at the typsetters leading to grave frustration for me! go raibh mile maith agat mar do cúnamh. I eagerly await further humbling. Le meas. James. |
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Aonghus
| Posted on Thursday, August 08, 2002 - 04:05 am: |
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Sorry James, typo on my part in 2 It shouldn't be bá, it should be ba - 3. Now we're getting into grammar. Not my forte! I just speak the language! 5. I'll need to check my dictionaries. But there just isn't a 1:1 relationship. I chose rebels because it makes more sense in the context: it refers both to English colonisers and turncoats. Apologies on the typos. I'm afraid I'm prone to dropping fadas too. The online dictionary I usually use seems to be down now. ( http://www.csis.ul.ie/focloir/) I'll get back to this later |
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Gavin ()
| Posted on Friday, August 09, 2002 - 11:23 pm: |
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The lyrics below were written by Pádraig Pearse, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1916, as an invitation to all Irishmen away from Ireland to return home and join the fight for independence. The original song was written in the 18th century as an exortation to Bonnie Prince Charlie to return to Ireland and claim his birthright. Curfá: Óró! ‘Sé do bheatha ‘bhaile Óró! ‘Sé do bheatha ‘bhaile Óró! ‘Sé do bheatha ‘bhaile Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh ‘Sé do bheatha a bhean ba léanmhar! B’é ár gcreach tú bheith i ngéibhinn Do dhúthaigh bhreá i seilbh meirleach Is tú díolta leis na Galla Curfá Tá Gráinne Mhaol ag teacht thar sáile Óglaigh armtha léi mar gharda Gaeil iad féin is ní Gaill ná Spáinnigh Is cuirfidh siad ruaig ar Ghalla Curfá A bhuí le Rí na bhFeart go bhfeiceam Muna mbeinn beo ina dhiaidh ach seachtain Gráinne Mhaol is míle gaiscíoch Ag fógairt fáin ar Ghalla You Are Welcome Home Chorus: Óró! You are welcome home! Óró! You are welcome home! Óró! You are welcome home! Now that summer is coming Welcome Oh woman who was so afflicted, It was our ruin that you were in bondage, Our fine land in the possesion of theives, And sold to the foreigners Chorus Grainne Mhaol is coming over the sea, Armed warriors along with her as guard, They are Irishmen, not English or Spanish, And they will rout the foreigners Chorus May it please the God of Miracles that we may see, Although we only live a week after it, Grainne Mhaol and a thousand warriors, Dispersing the foreigners This is may be late but I came across it on the net and thought you may still be interested. Gavin |
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