Thirteen traditional songs in Irish with contemporary guitar accompaniment. Complete texts, translations, and notes supplied.
Includes unlimited streaming of Casadh na n-Amhrán / Turning the Song
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about
A pastoral song from the eighteenth century. The pastourelle typically described a nobleman on horseback seeking to seduce a shepherdess; as the genre became more popular, the protagonist is often on foot, ‘with his dog and gun’. The girl may be engaged in any rural pursuit – minding sheep or calves, picking mushrooms, gathering seaweed, cutting rushes, etc. This genre of song was popular in the 18th and early 19th century. Thomas Moore (1779–1852) used the air for ‘The Valley Lay Smiling Before Me. The Song of O’Ruark, Prince of Breffni’.
lyrics
Cailín Deas Crúite na mBó
Tá bliain nó níos mó ’gam ag éisteacht
Le cogar doilíosach mo mheoin,
Ó casadh liom grá geal mo chléibhe, Tráthnóna breá gréine san fhómhar.
Bhí an bhó bhainne chumhra ag géimneach, ’S na héanlaith go meidhreach ag ceol,
Is ar bhruach an tsrutháin ar leathaobh díom, Bhí cailín deas crúite na mbó.
Tá a súile mar lonradh na gréine, Ag scaipeadh trí spéartha gan cheo, ’S is deirge a grua ná na caortha, Ar lasadh i measc craobha na gcnó; Tá a béilín níos milse ná sméara, ’S is gile ná leamhnacht a snó;
Níl ógbhean níos deise sa saol seo Ná cailín deas crúite na mbó.
Dá bhfaighinnse ardtiarnas na hÉireann, Agus éadaí den síoda is den sról,
Dá bhfaighinnse an bhanríon is airde Dá bhfuil ar an dtalamh seo beo.
Dá bhfaighinnse céad loingeas mar spré dom, Píolótaí, caisleáin agus ór,
Ó b’fhearr liom bheith bocht ar dhroim sléibhe Le cailín deas crúite na mbó.
Mura bhfuil sé i ndán dom bheith in éineacht Leis an spéirbhean ródhílis úd fós,
Is daoirseach dhobhrónach mo shaolsa,
Gan suairceas, gan éifeacht, gan treo.
Ní bheidh sólás im’ chroí ná i m’intinn,
Ná suaimhneas orm oíche ná ló,
Nó go bhfeicfead lem’ thaobh liom óna muintir Mo chailín deas crúite na mbó.
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The Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow
For the past year or more I am listening
To the melancholy whisper of my mind,
Since I first met the bright love of my heart
On a fine sunny evening in autumn.
The fragrant milk-cow was lowing
And the birds were merrily singing,
And on the bank of the stream close behind me Was the pretty girl milking her cow.
Her eyes have the radiance of sunshine Spreading through skies without mist;
And her cheeks are redder than the rowan berries That flame among nut-bearing branches;
Her little mouth is sweeter than berries,
And her skin whiter than fresh milk,
There’s no nicer young woman in the world Than the pretty maid milking her cow.
If I were given the lordship of Ireland, And clothes made of silk and satin,
If I got the highest-born queen
Who exists in the whole world;
If I got a hundred ships for a dowry With pilots and castles and gold
Oh, I’d rather be poor on a hilltop With the pretty girl milking her cow.
If it’s not my fate to share my life
With that beautiful, faithful woman at some stage, My life will be bitter and sad,
Without joy or meaning or purpose,
There will be no light in my heart or my mind, No repose for me night or day,
Till I see her given to me by her people,
My pretty girl milking her cow.
Fran O’Rourke is emeritus professor of philosophy. With John Feeley he has given recitals of Irish traditional songs
associated with James Joyce from San Diego to Shanghai.
John is Ireland’s leading classical guitarist. He has performed concerts around the world and recorded many CDs, most recently Bach’s Cello Suites 1-3....more
