Help interpret song recording?
Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2019 2:15 pm
Could anyone help me understand the final quatrain of a field recording of the song Gràdh Geal Mo Chridh made on Eriskay in 1950?
I recognise the first three verses from other versions but the last one sounds completely different to anything noted or recorded elsewhere. I think I can make out some words like "ghraidh", "gleann", and "leat", but I'm not a native speaker so struggle to understand what the singer sings in that verse.
The audio file is at:
http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/pl ... 88B3149F31
(3rd verse starts at 3.00 minutes)
I do have a couple of other questions about the chorus on the recording if someone was willing to help a little more:
The singer clearly and consistently pronounces " Bheir mi " as "' 'eir mi ". Is this a dialect feature, just a performance quirk, or something else (perhaps " Thoir mi ")?
In the second line of the chorus I think she sings " (Bh)eir mi, oro, eile bhois ", which is unique to this version and makes sense in the context of the song. But the last line of the chorus is usually sung as " 'S mi fo bhròn 's tu 'gam dhìth ", whereas she seems to sing " Mi fo leamhain 'gad a dhuìth ". As far as I can tell "leamhain" means "elms" in English, but that seems a bit odd. Is she actually singing " 'S mi fo dheamhain " =? I'm tormented/bedevilled without you? Or am I completely wrong and it is something else altogether?
I'd be very grateful for help with any this, but particularly the words of the final verse.
I recognise the first three verses from other versions but the last one sounds completely different to anything noted or recorded elsewhere. I think I can make out some words like "ghraidh", "gleann", and "leat", but I'm not a native speaker so struggle to understand what the singer sings in that verse.
The audio file is at:
http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/pl ... 88B3149F31
(3rd verse starts at 3.00 minutes)
I do have a couple of other questions about the chorus on the recording if someone was willing to help a little more:
The singer clearly and consistently pronounces " Bheir mi " as "' 'eir mi ". Is this a dialect feature, just a performance quirk, or something else (perhaps " Thoir mi ")?
In the second line of the chorus I think she sings " (Bh)eir mi, oro, eile bhois ", which is unique to this version and makes sense in the context of the song. But the last line of the chorus is usually sung as " 'S mi fo bhròn 's tu 'gam dhìth ", whereas she seems to sing " Mi fo leamhain 'gad a dhuìth ". As far as I can tell "leamhain" means "elms" in English, but that seems a bit odd. Is she actually singing " 'S mi fo dheamhain " =? I'm tormented/bedevilled without you? Or am I completely wrong and it is something else altogether?
I'd be very grateful for help with any this, but particularly the words of the final verse.