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The Daltaí Boards » Archive: 1999-2004 » 2002 (July-December) » Oro Se Do Bheatha Bhaile « Previous Next »

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James
Posted on Monday, August 05, 2002 - 02:55 pm:   Edit Post Print Post

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:   Edit Post Print Post

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:   Edit Post Print Post

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:   Edit Post Print Post

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:   Edit Post Print Post

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:   Edit Post Print Post

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:   Edit Post Print Post

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:   Edit Post Print Post

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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