Having just nominated Griogal Cridhe yet again as my favourite slow air and figured out how best to play it on whistle, I was moved to see if I could find English lyrics to this beautiful lament. I came up with the following site which, as anyone who checks it out can see, gives me almost everything I want.
What it doesn’t give me is an adequate English translation of the chorus; ie, a translation which would be singable and which translates the bits phrase by phrase. Can someone please suggest something that would work better? (The translation of the verses looks fine and would certainly be singable.)
Here is the chorus minus accents:
Obhan! Obhan! Obhaniri! Obhaniri o
Obhan! Obhan! Obhaniri! 'Smor mo mhulad’s mor.
All that is suggested by way of translation is: ‘Great is my grief, and great!’ which, despite the repetition, still looks to be at least one phrase short of a load to me. Can someone do better or at least explain to me what I’m missing.
The best recorded version I have and the best I know of is by Mac-Talla, a group of Scottish Gaelic singers and instrumentalists who formed, did one tour, recorded one CD and then went their separate ways. I think teh CD is on Temple; I’ll check to inght and correct that if I’m wrong. other versions I have don’t come close.
Well as you’d see from the web site I unsuccessfully tried to post a URL to, the verses are very singable in English. I think it’s that last phrase in the chorus we’re missing a translation of and I don’t see any harm in finding a loose translation that fits the metre better than what we do have. I too have thought of siging it in Gaelic but I’m painfully aware that what sounds OK to the English-attuned ear can sound excruciating to the native speaker. I’d caution against singing it to Gaelic speakers in Gaelic unless you have been trained in correct pronunciation. In my case, my Gaelic speaking grandmother is long gone.
It is indeed about a historical event but I’d have to check to confirm whether it is a lament for the clan in general or for one particular member. There is a record of it being sung by the very woman who is represented as grieving that goes right back to the seventeenth century. I belive the report to be fairly reliable.
“I too have thought of siging it in Gaelic but I’m painfully aware that what sounds OK to the English-attuned ear can sound excruciating to the native speaker. I’d caution against singing it to Gaelic speakers in Gaelic unless you have been trained in correct pronunciation. In my case, my Gaelic speaking grandmother is long gone.”
I half way agree with you on this point. I have had a little experience with foriegn exchange students singing Beatles songs they have learned by rote. Charming but it can get old very quickly.
"It is indeed about a historical event but I’d have to check to confirm whether it is a lament for the clan in general or for one particular member. There is a record of it being sung by the very woman who is represented as grieving that goes right back to the seventeenth century. I belive the report to be fairly reliable.
Well I will continue in my romatic fantasy then. I find that if I can personalize a song in my mind by relating it to a personal experince or an idea of what it is about I can express it better.
Without doing a lot more research, the best I can do to fill you in on the origins of this beautiful lament is to quote directly from the sleeve notes of the Mac-Talla CD: … mairidh gaol is ceol.
‘A lament and lullaby sung by the wife of the chief of the Clan MacGregor of Glenstrae who was executed at Taymouth Castle, Perthshire, on 7th april 1570. This event, recorded by the vicar of Fortingall, gives us an example of one of the earliest documented Gaelic songs, hence the exact date of the execution.’
So my earlier account was mistaken in some details; in particular I underestimated the age by nearly a century. In any event, Baglady, it seems you may safely continue to treat this song as having sound historical credentials. I’ve not seen these credentials challenged anywhere.
Although Mac-Talla made only one CD, they were truly a supergroup. The singers, Christine Primrose, Eilidh Mackenzie and Arthur Cormack have all made stunning solo CDs that are well worth investigating by lovers of Gaelic song.