Lyr Req: Cailin na Gruaige Baine / ...Doinne

Subject: Looking for "Cailín na Gruaige Báine"
From: Tsukasa
Date: 26 Jun 98 - 01:59 PM

I am looking for the original text (in Gaelic), its correct English translation and traditional background.

In some version, this song has a title of "Cailín na Gruaige Doinne", brown-haired instead of fair-haired.

Any information would be highly appreciated.

Subject: Lyr Add: CAILÍN NA GRUAIGE DOINNE
From: Maelgwyn
Date: 23 Sep 98 - 12:32 AM

CAILÍN NA GRUAIGE DOINNE

Ar bhanta an tSroil 'sea d'fhagas mo stor
Is a maithrin ag gleo gan dabht lei
'Dtaobh gra a thabhairt do m' shortsa d'fhanai gan treo
Gan cairne bui oir i gcabhair dom
Is i an bhab mhiochair bheoil a chuir blath ar mo sceol
Is is paiste bhi og gan dabht i
Is nach brea deas mo short ag geatsail ar bord
Le cailin na gruaige doinne

Is neosfad mo stair do m' mhuintir ar fad
Ce cloite, go lag gan mheabhair me
Ag smaoineamh is ag braith is ag tnuth le hi 'theacht
Gach oiche is maidin Domhnaigh
Rince go pras, aoibhneas no cleas
Ni smaoinim le heaspa mheabhrach
Ach mo chroi istigh a shlad le diandiograis searc
Do chailin na gruaige doinne

Is treithlag a bhim gan aoinne do m' bhuion
Ag deanamh aon tsuim sa domhan diom
Is is baolach do dhroim go n-eagfad gan mhoill
I m' eigin ar dith mo mheabhrach
Le saorghuth a cinn go leimid anios
Na heisc as an linn ag leabhaireacht
Is da breacht mar ni, ni shasodh mo chroi
Gan chailin na gruaige doinne

Subject: RE: Looking for
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 23 Sep 98 - 05:33 AM

Tsukasa

"ba/n" usually means "white" rather than "fair" which is "fionn". So "donn"/"doinne" sounds better. That said.....

Regards

Subject: Lyr Add: CAILÍN NA GRUAIGE BÁINE (An Fear Bán)
From: Aine
Date: 24 Sep 98 - 12:03 AM

CAILÍN NA GRUAIGE BÁINE
leis An Fear Bán (by the Fear Bán)

This is one of the lesser-known songs by An Fear Bán, one of the last of the traditional poet-composers of North West Ireland, who also wrote Mheall Sí Lena Glórthaí Mé, Mo Mhadadh Beag and Chumhaidh an Fhile. The fair-haired girl (Cailín na Gruaige Báine) has left the poor fella pineing away for her and claiming that he just can't live without her.

Is uaigneach mo shaol go gruama faraoir
My solitary life is cheerless alas
'Mo thruaill bhocht gan siamsa 'tá mé
I am a poor wretch without any diversion
'S is brónach a bhím gan suaimhneas na hoich'
I am most sorrowful with no rest at night
Go buartha lag cloíte cráite
Disturbed, weak, exhausted and tormented

'Sí 'n stuabhean gheal chaoin a rinne gual de mo chroí
'Tis a stately, fair, delicate woman who turned my heart to coal
'S níl suairceas a choiche i ndán domh
And I will never be cheerful again
Ó luadh liom mar mhnaoi go luath 'dtús mo shaoil
Since I became involved with a woman early in my life
Mo chailín na gruaige báine
My fair-haired girl

'S i bláth bán na gcraobh í, thug barr ar gach scéimh
She's the fairest flower of them all, the most beautiful in form
Le háilleacht le méid 's le breáchta
With the utmost and finest beauty
'Sí d'fhág mé faoi léan, 'sí chráigh mé gan bhréig
I left her in sorrow, undoubtedly I tormented her
'Gus tá 'fhios ag Mac Dé mo chás-sa
And the Son of God knows my reason

Dá bhfaighinnse mo rogha, ó b'ansa liom é
If I could have my choice, oh it would be my dearest wish
Bheith ar láimh leis a' spéirbhean álainn
To be holding the hand of that beautiful young girl
'S ní náire ar bith liom é nó 's í grá geal mo chléibh
And I'm not ashamed at all that she is the love of my life
Mo chailín na gruaige báine
My fair-haired girl

Dá dtigeadh sí arís ar cuairt chun mo thí
If she would come again to my house
Nach mise bheadh aoibhiúil sásta
Wouldn't I be smiling and happy
'S níl áit ar bith dár mhian léi nach mbainfinnse fúm
And there's nowhere at all that I wouldn't settle if she wanted
Ach cead 'fháil mo shaol a chaitheamh léi
Just let me spend my life with her

Nach trua mise 'smaointiú go domhain in mo chroí
Aren't I pitiful forever thinking in my heart
Nach bhfeicim arís go brách í
That I will never see her again
Tá mé buartha bocht faoi chian is ní mhairfead beo bliain
I am so sorrowful and sad that I will not live a year
Gan cailín na gruaige báine
Without the fair-haired girl

If you like this song, you might a cupla others I have on my music page:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8998/ceol.html

Slán, Áine

Subject: RE: Looking for
From: Tsukasa
Date: 18 Oct 98 - 02:40 PM

Thank you, all! (^o^)/ I really appreciate your help. Now I start strugling for translation of this song into Japanese text.

Subject: RE: Looking for
From: Aine
Date: 19 Oct 98 - 07:20 AM

Dear Tsukasa:

Ta failte romhat! You're welcome! Good luck to you with the song! Slan, Aine

Subject: Lyric request - Cailin na Gruaige Baine
From: Paul
Date: 08 Jul 99 - 10:42 PM

I'm trying to find the lyrics to an Irish song for a friend. The title of the song is Cailin na Gruaige Baine. Does anyone have the lyrics - please? You can send them to: [e-mail]

Thank you.

Subject: RE: Lyric request
From: Wolfgang
Date: 09 Jul 99 - 04:06 AM

Paul, I nearly didn't open your thread due to lack of information, please put at least part of the title into the thread name.

Wolfgang

click to find what you have asked for:Cailín na Gruaige Báine

Subject: RE: Looking for ...na Gruaige Doinne thread
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 07:14 AM

I've been searching for an old thread where Brian gives a translation for Cailín na Gruaige Doinne as "The Girl with the Brown Hair", beginning "On the plains of Sroil [Shrule?] I left my love"
I have a copy of the translation, but I just cannot find the thread - though these lyrics have been contributed to this thread and to http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=22011#237138 , although both threads were intitially seeking lyrics to different songs. I have the air for Cailín na Gruaige Doinne, but am not sure which thread to post it to!

I may end up starting a new thread, even though the lyrics are already here. But maybe someone can find the old thread that already has the translation in it?

Subject: RE: Looking for
From: Paddy Plastique
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 10:25 AM

Your mentioning 'An Fear Bán' from Donegal, Áine, rings a distant bell with me.
I remember hearing mention of a brother of Seosamh and Séamus Mac/Ó Grianna
who was a 'poet-composer' as you state. Is he the 'Fear Bán'?
Do you have any other background information about him? A remarkable family altogether, from a remarkable place.

Subject: RE: Looking for
From: Áine
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 11:22 AM

As far as I know, An Fear Bán was Seán (Bán) Mac Gríanna. I might have some other background on him; but, I'd have to look it up. Perhaps Philippa or Annraoi will have more to hand than I.

All the best, Áine

Subject: RE: Looking for
From: Áine
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 11:27 AM

Philippa -- Here's a thread entitled 'Cailín Na Gruaige Doinne'. Is that the one you were looking for?

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Looking for
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 11:33 AM

What about the dead sexy way Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh pronounces "bwaynyeah" with that lovely, mysterious Donegal accent of hers?

(For those mystified, I should explain that I'm single-handedly trying to turn Mudcat into a shrine dedicated to the lovely Mairéad as a counter-attraction to the cult of Andrea Corr over on Chiff & Fipple)

Subject: RE: Looking for
From:
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 04:40 PM

An Pluiméir Ceolmhar, how's about Fionula O'Siochru, Aoife Ní Fhearraigh, or good o'l Máire Brennan? They all have better voices, technically speaking! I also like Maighread & Tríona Ní Dhómhnaill, but not so much for the sound of their voices as for their choices of material and their arrangements. Maighread pushed her voice so much on her first album that there are tracks I won't listen to. It makes my throat ache!

I love Mairéad, too, though! When she nails a song it's fabulous, but sometimes she's on the bottom side of the pitch, and that's hard on my ear. I can't sing along when I listen to the last couple of verses of an Maighdean Mhara for that very reason. It's an itch I can't scratch, ya know, but I've learnt a bunch of songs from her. I listen to Altan all the time.

Oh well - enough rambling. Back to the grind!

ciarili

Subject: RE: Looking for
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 06 Jun 02 - 06:23 PM

Is maith an taighde a rinne tú, a Áine. Well done. I tried the www.mudcat.org... search box several times and always came up with 3 other threads and not the one I wanted. But you found the thread at the alterego ragtime.mudcat.org ...

I don't need to refresh that thread yet; I have to prepare my material.

Another strange thing I found in searching. I tried Google searches for a few songs and among the responses was a link to "Mudcat search" which gave me a page listing messages from "guest, Philippa" on numerous threads including any where my subject included the key words I was searching Google for.

A more relevant result from my search party is the information that Aoife Ní Fhearaigh has sound sample, lyrics and translation for "Cailín na Gruaige Báine" at http://www.aoife.ie/song2.htm or see Aoife's album listing

When I was first learning Irish, I went to Rann na Feirste and other students pointed Sean Bán out to me and told me he was a brother of writers and Séamus and Seosamh, as if that was his only claim to fame. I didn't know then that he'd composed many songs and that I myself would someday sing a few of them! And I met Neillí Ní Dhomhnaill and knew she was a singer, but I didn't know she'd contributed about 300 songs to the store of the Irish Folklore Commission and she was the aunt of Micheál, Tríona and Mairéad - singers I already enjoyed.

Subject: Fair Haired Girl - seek Gaelic
From: GUEST,Philippa
Date: 22 Jun 02 - 03:47 AM

Samuel Ferguson (1810 -1886) made some poetic translations from Irish Gaelic, including one called "The Fair-Haired Girl". The original was written in the 18th century, well before Seán Bán Mac Grianna was born. I will give you the Samuel Ferguson poem and hope someone can find the original Irish-language poem for us.

THE FAIR-HAIRED GIRL
anonymous, 18th c., trans. Samuel Ferguson

The sun has set, the stars are still
The tide has left the brown beach bare
The birds have fled the upper air;
Upon her branch, the lone cuckoo
Is chanting still her sad adieu;
And you, my fair-haired girl, must go
Across the salt sea under woe!

I through love have learned three things,
Sorrow, sin and death it brings
Yet day by day, my heart within
Dares shame and sorrow, death and sin.
Maiden, you have aimed the dart
Ranking in my ruined heart:
Maiden, may the God above
Grant you grace to grant me love!

Sweeter than the viol's string,
And the notes that blackbirds sing:
Brighter than the dewdrops rare
Is the maiden wondrous fair:
Like the silver swans at play
Is her neck, as bright as day!
Woe is me, that e'er my sight
Dwelt on charms so deadly bright!