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Aindréas
Member Username: Aindréas
Post Number: 77 Registered: 09-2005
| Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006 - 01:22 am: |
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I have this song performed by Máire Brennan (she's a native speaker from Donegal isn't she?), but was wondering if there are any other versions of this song sung in Irish. I really love it. Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde.
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Lughaidh
Member Username: Lughaidh
Post Number: 1302 Registered: 01-2005
| Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 09:23 pm: |
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Strange title; if it means "be my eyes", it is wrong! But maybe its a shortened form for "bí thusa i mo shúile" (be in my eyes). Máire Brennan (or Ní Bhraonáin) is said to be a native speaker from Gweedore, NW Donegal; her mother is a native speaker (not her father). I dunno how fluent she is. I dunno if there are other versions of that song, maybe it isn't traditional and has been composed by her. Tír Chonaill abú!
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Lucy (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From:
| Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 08:09 am: |
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It is a hymn known in English as "Be Thou My Vision". It is a traditonal Irish tune and the words are sometimes attributed to St. Patrick although I'm sure this is just folklore. |
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John (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From:
| Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 08:36 am: |
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No actually that is how she sings it... I heard her perform this number a few years back...the words were changed to fit the music. We had a priest from Derry who used to sing the same words in school, he told us that sometimes the churches thought it better to the language to fit the music because once a hymn was added to the church...it was against the church to change the music. |
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Aonghus
Member Username: Aonghus
Post Number: 3104 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 08:52 am: |
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Aonghus
Member Username: Aonghus
Post Number: 3105 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 08:55 am: |
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Breis eolais: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/t/btmvison.htm The original is Old Irish - I wonder was Máire version translated back from english. |
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Aonghus
Member Username: Aonghus
Post Number: 3106 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 09:00 am: |
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Lucy (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From:
| Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 06:34 pm: |
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John - I don't think that's quite right. I know several hymns that have the same words set to different melodies. Or maybe I misunderstood you. |
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Dennis
Member Username: Dennis
Post Number: 1328 Registered: 02-2005
| Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 07:27 pm: |
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quote:Bunleagan? http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G400018/ Sea. Sa tSean-Ghaeilge: Rop tú mo baile Focal ar fhocal i nGaeilge an lae inniu: Gura tú mo bhuile. Is ionann "buile" agus "madness, frenzy" ( Buile Shuibhne, An Poc ar Buile), ar ndóigh. Ach bhíodh brí eile leis an bhfocal seo chomh maith anallód, mar atá "hallucination, mystic vision, aisling, fís". |
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Aonghus
Member Username: Aonghus
Post Number: 3110 Registered: 08-2004
| Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 06:44 am: |
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Bullaí fir. |
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Esther
Member Username: Esther
Post Number: 6 Registered: 01-2006
| Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 03:20 pm: |
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It was actually Máire's grandfather that put the Irish words to the hymn. Irish was definately his first language and as with all good translations he might just have captured the sense of the hymn instead of making a literal translation. |
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Anne (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From:
| Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 - 10:46 pm: |
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A brief clip of Máire being interviewed in Irish is available here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/irish/srl/music/music2.shtml Does she sound native? |
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Aindréas
Member Username: Aindréas
Post Number: 80 Registered: 09-2005
| Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 01:37 am: |
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Hey that was really cool. No idea if she sounds native, but she seemed to speak incredibly naturally. It's super neat to see Irish being used so ordinarily where you would normally see English, like for an album interview. Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde.
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Riona
Member Username: Riona
Post Number: 182 Registered: 01-2006
| Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 04:02 am: |
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I assume she's native because I think she's Enya's (Eithne's) sister and they say Enya is native so go figure on that one. Beir bua agus beannacht |
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Esther
Member Username: Esther
Post Number: 7 Registered: 01-2006
| Posted on Thursday, May 11, 2006 - 02:09 pm: |
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Oh yes Máire is a native speaker. Surely all of them grew up in the Gaeltacht. In her autobiography she tells a lot about it. |
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Anne (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted From:
| Posted on Friday, May 12, 2006 - 10:24 pm: |
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I had interpreted "Be my eyes" as a poetic way of saying to God "help me to see/discern." Maybe one of the experienced Irish-speakers here could say if this makes sense? Of course this is a change from the original Old Irish and Old English versions--they both seem to be expressing something along the lines of wanting to see God in a vision or dream. An amazon.com search shows that the Irish language version of this hymn has only been recorded by Máire Brennan (unless I'm somehow not searching correctly )...if anyone else has recorded it, it may be hard to find. Of course the English version "Be Thou My Vision" has been recorded by many religious singers. |
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Esther
Member Username: Esther
Post Number: 8 Registered: 01-2006
| Posted on Saturday, May 13, 2006 - 03:28 am: |
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Iona has recorded it as well Anne. I can't remember what album it is on though. |
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