Would some kind soul kindly share with me the lyrics of the song By the River of Gems, also knows as Cois abhainn na séad, Dun na Séad or the Fort of the jewels.
Until one o’ dem “kindly souls” turns up:
Cois Abhainn Na Séad
By the River of Gems
'S annsúd ar dtúis dom ar imeall ciumhaise
Coille cumhrtha thárla
An (t-)fhinne-bhean fhionn ba bhinne í ar a tiúin
Ná an fidil, an flúit ‘s an chláirseach.
Ba bhreágh glas é a s’il, a mala caol cúmtha,
A leaca bhí mar chubhar na trágha amuigh;
Ba ghile í ar a píb ná an eala ar a’ linn,
Agus líonadh mo chroídhe le grádh dhi.
Nuair a dhearcas-sa í anns’d mar a bhí,
An ainnír ba chiúine breághtha,
Go raibh scáil na gcaor 'na leacain réidh
Agus fátha bhinn ‘na g-ire,
Meadhon an chuim do laguigh me im’ chroidhe istigh
Le taitneamh d’á clódh is d’a gáire;
O bhathas go bonn bhí a ciabh léi go trom
Is a cúl buí go casta fáinneach.
Translation:
And it was there at the edge of a fragrant forest
That I met for the first time this fair woman
Whose song is sweeter than
The fiddle, the flute or the harp.
Her glance was fresh and clear,
Her eyebrows narrow and shapely,
Her cheek like the foam on the beach,
Her neck whiter than a swan on a pool;
And my heart was filled with love for her.
When I found there the quietest loveliest lass
With the shine of a bright berry on her smooth cheek,
And a sweet note of music in her laugh,
My heart turned over inside me
At the sight of her slender waist and her smile;
And her hair hanging down from her head to her foot,
Thick and golden and rich with ringlets.
djm
Thanks Dave.
Thanks for the words!
The Irish looks kinda transitional. Do you know when this piece was composed? By whom?
t
This particular version of the lyrics I got from the liner notes of the CD “World Library of Folk and Primitive Music - Volume 2 - Ireland”. It is from the Alan Lomax Collection and distributed as Rounder CD 1742. This is the collection where Séamus Ennis acted as guide and interpreter for Lomax.
The song is introduced as being traditional, with the singer, Máire Ní Cheocháin, getting her blas (idiomatic style) from singers in her same area - Coolea, Co. Cork. Besides that, the notes say it is an aisling (dream) poem, where the beautiful girl is a representation for Ireland.
Aisling poems are usually pretty long, so I don’t believe these to be the full lyrics, as usually there is a last verse where there is some sort of alliterative representation of Ireland’s current (to the poet) troubles.
djm
Liam O’Flynn mentioned in an interview I heard that the same melody may have served for several sets of lyrics (not unprecedented in Ireland, as the street ballads would have used the same approach). He mentioned that he considers it one of the great Munster Ashlings (or Aislin).
Brian McNamara calls the tune the Fort of the Jewels (Dun na séad). I wonder if the Fort of the Jewels is a different song (using the same melody) or is it just another name for the same song (same lyrics).
Not that I am aware. Both titles refer to the same locality, as noted by the liner notes on Brian McNamara’s CD that you previously cited, i.e. Baltimore, West Cork is called in Irish Dún na Séad (Fort of the Jewels) but the song is often called Cois abhainn na Séad (By the River of Jewels).
Probably there is more information and more complete versions of the lyrics in the Irish](http://www.itma.ie/%22%3EIrish) Traditional Music Archive, but you have to visit there in person to access their materials.
djm
Has anyone the dots for this please - I can’t find them on the session website
Thanks
Ged