Transcript

Thug mé mo chuairt úd ó mhullach na Cruaiche
'Gus liom anuas chun an tSléibhe Bháin,
Ag cuir tuairisc mo chailín a d'fhág m'intinn buartha
'Gus a rinne gual dubh dho mo chroí in mo lár,
Mar d'at mo ghuaillí go dtí mo chluasa
'Gus fuair mé an fuagra glan géar uaidh an mbás,
Dheamhan duine dár gcuala mo scéal an uair úd
Nár úirt[1] go mba trua bocht é an Caisideach Bán.

Ar cheann an staighre tá plúr gach maighdean,
'Gus siúd í an mhaighdean an bhrollaigh bháin,
Nach trua nach liom í gan bó gan púnta
'Gus í ar contúirt a'm ar láimh;
Mar dhéanfainn teach mór di ar shúil an bhóthair
'Gus chuirfinn cóistí, óra, fóna clann,
'Gus, a chúilín donn deas, dá (mblighteá) bó dom
In do cheangal fómhair ní chuirfinn suim.

Nach aisteach an réasún le (gur) chuir tú i gcéill dom
Nach bhfásfadh an féar thríd an talamh aníos,
Nach dtiúrfadh an ghealach, óra, solas dh'Éire,
Nach dtiocfadh na réaltaí amach san oích'.
Níl brí ná spreacadh, óra, i dteas na gréine,
'S go snámhfadh na héisc ar an muir gan bhraon,
Go n-éireodh an fharraige chomh hard le na sléibhte,
Go deo ní thréigfidh mé grá mo chroí.

Mar d'fhan mé seal, óra, ag feoghlaim Béarla,
'Gus dúirt an cléireach gur mhaith mo chaint,
'S an fhad eile gan unsa céille
Mar a bheadh na héiníní ar bharr na gcrann;
Mar amuigh san oíche gan fás ná dídean
Ach an sneachta ag síordhul fó íochtar gleann,
Is, a chúilín donn deas, ar chaill mé mo chiall leat,
Na grást(a) nár fhagha tú mara n-éalóir liom.

Mar siúd í tharainn an eala bhán deas
'Gus í chomh gléasta le bean ar bith,
Nach trua mar a gineadh í, óra, i mbroinn a máthar,
Mar is le haghaidh mo bháis (...).

Translation

I took my course from the summit of the Reek
And down I went to the White Mountain,
Seeking my girl who left my mind troubled
And who made my heart inside turn to black coal,
Because my shoulders swelled to my ears
And I got a clear sharp notice from death,
There was nobody who heard my story at that time
Who didn't say that fair-haired Cassidy was a poor pity.

At the top of the stairs is the flower of all maidens,
And she is the maiden of the white breast,
What a pity she is not mine without a cow or a pound
With her in danger with me in my arm (?);
Because I would build her a big house at the top of the road
And I would send coaches for her family,
And, my brown-haired beauty, if you milked a cow for me
In your autumnal binding(?) I would have no interest.

What a strange reason with which you explained to me
That the grass would not grow up through the ground,
That the moon would not light up Ireland,
That the stars would not come out at night.
The heat of the sun has no strength or energy,
And until the fish swam in the dried-up sea,
Until the sea rose as high as the mountains,
Never would I abandon the love of my heart.

For I stayed a while learning English,
And the cleric said that my speech was good,
And the rest of the time without an ounce of sense
Like the little birds in the tree-tops;
Because(?), outside in the night without tree or shelter
Only the snow constantly blowing about the bottom of the glen,
And, my brown-haired beauty, over whom I lost my mind,
May you get no mercy if you don't escape with me.

There she goes past us, the beautiful white swan
And she as well-dressed as any woman,
What a pity she was conceived in her mother's womb,
Because it is for my death (...).

Footnotes

Commentary

This song was composed by, or in the name of, Tomás Ó Caiside, who is believed to have been born in Leacht an Driseacháin, county Roscommon, in the early eighteenth century. He entered the Augustinian monastery in Ballyhaunis, county Mayo, and was evidently expelled as a result of a love affair he had with a local woman. This song reflects the personal dilemma Ó Caiside faced between his duties as an Augustinian monk and his love for women. He describes his desire for a beautiful woman with a sense of guilt and torture. Douglas Hyde collected a verse of this song that implies that Ó Caiside seduced a girl in a wood after hearing her confession. See Abhráin diadha chúige Connacht (2 vols, London and Dublin, 1906), vol. 2, 175. In some longer versions he seeks mercy from God in the final verses. For more information on this song see: Mícheál and Tomás Ó Máille, Amhráin chlainne Gaedheal (Dublin, 1905; new edition by William Mahon, Amhráin chlainne Gael (Indreabhán, 1991), 20-2, 162); Douglas Hyde, Abhráin diadha chúige Connacht, vol. 2, 171-7; Eibhlín Bean Mhic Choisdealbha, Amhráin Mhuighe Seóla (Dublin, 1923), 89; Ríonach Ní Fhlathartaigh, Clár amhrán Bhaile na hInse (Dublin, 1976), 10-11; and Brian O'Rourke, Pale rainbow: an dubh ina bhán (Blackrock, Co. Dublin, 1990), 96-105. Pádraig Ó Néill (Galway) and Pádraig Ó Baoighill (Donegal) sing the song elsewhere in the Doegen collection.