Blackbird (Beatles) Lyrics

[caiptean]

Okay! So I encountered a very good version of my favorite Beatles song, Blackbird, done in Gaelic by Julie Fowlis. I looked everywhere for the Gaelic lyrics, but to no avail, so I took it upon myself to write them as best I could. Working from the audio of the song itself and a copy of the lyrics in Irish someone posted on Youtube, I've been able to figure out the following. I'm having some trouble picking out other words though, any help? Is everything I have so far correct?

GÀIDHLIG
Lon dubh seinn [?] (‘san) oidche,
tog [?] sgiathan bhrist’ is èirich suas.
Fad do shlighe
bha thu a’ feitheamh airson [?] togail [?]

Lon dubh seinn [?] (‘san) oidhche,
[?]
[?]

Lon dubh sgìth,
lon dubh sgìth,
[?]


IRISH
Lonn dubh canadh 'san oíche
Rug don sciathain bhrist' is eirí thuas
Fhad do shlí
Tá tú ag feitheamh ag an aois seo a tosnú

Lonn dubh canadh i lár hoíche
Tóg an geall a bhí i do chuid shúil
Fhad do shaol
Tá tú ag feitheamh ag an uair go mbheadh tú saor

Lon dubh ag eitilt x2
Isteach don solus dhubh na h-oíche

BEURLA
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly,
blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night


I'm not asking for a total tr*nsl*t**n, just some help with the parts I'm having trouble with. My ears are not sensitive enough, and my vocabulary not wide enough to pick everything up.

Tapadh leibh!
- Caiptean

[GunChleoc]

This kind of thing is very good training for your ears!

I don't have the song, but if nobody can help you, maybe try contacting Julie through her homepage?

[AlasdairBochd]

Lon dubh seinn [?] (‘san) oidche,

Smaoinichidh mi gum bu chòir dha a bhith "Lon dubh seinn tron (through the) oidhch' "
(I think that it should be)
The e being dropped from oidhche at the end of a sentence is very common, m.e. fad na h-oidhch' (all night).
Tha dòigh na h-òrain seo ceart cho àlainn. It's a beautiful version of the song right enough.

[CaoimhinSF]

This thread has been dormant for a while, but I recently started to try to get the lyrics down and came across this thread, so I've joined the forum so I can post what i have thus far, and see if others can help. There's one line in particular where I have trouble hearing some sounds, although I can tell more or less what Julie's saying. Any comments/corrections would be appreciated (I realize that there are places where the grammar seems a bit off-- it's most likely my ears, mishearing it, though)).

Lon-dubh a’ seinn ann an dubh na h-oidhch’,
tog do sgiathan bhrist’ is èirich suas.
{Air?] Fad do shaoghail,*
bha thu a’ feitheamh airson an tiota togalaidh.

Lon-dubh a’ seinn ann an dubh na h-oidhch’,
tog ____ do shùla sealga __ [fheic?].
[Air?] Fad do shaoghail,*
bha thu a’ feitheamh airson an tiota gu bhitheas tu saor.

Lon dubh air a sgiath,
lon dubh air a sgiath,
isteach [san?] s[h?]olas dhubh na h-oidhch’!

* Not sure the air is really there

Blackbird singing in the dark of night,
take your broken wings and arise.
All your life,
you were waiting for when the moment will come.

Blackbird singing in the dark of night,
lift your hunted eyes [and see?].
All your life,
you were waiting for the moment that you’ll be free.

Blackbird on the wing,
blackbird on the wing,
into the dark light of the night!

Here's a link to a YouTube video with Julie singing the song, in case anyone needs it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgTgledCjOI

[CaoimhinSF]

Julie Fowlis finally posted the lyrics, which explain the bits I was missing, especially in the middle line of the second verse.

Lon-dubh a’ seinn ann an dubhar na h-oidhche,
tog do sgiathan brist’ is èirich suas.
Fad do rè,
bha thu a’ feitheamh airson an tìd’ gu togail rithe.

Lon-dubh a’ seinn ann an dubhar na h-oidhche,
tog an sgàil bho d'shùil is seall gu geur.
Fad do rè,
bha thu a’ feitheamh airson an tioc a bhios tu saor.

Lon dubh sgèith,
lon dubh sgèith,
[a-]steach dhan t-solas dubh na h-oidhche!

This is how I understand the lyrics now, although I haven't been able to find the word tioc in any of my Gaelic dictionaries.:

Blackbird singing in the [shade/dark] of night,
lift your broken wings and arise.
All your life,
you were only waiting for the time to ascend.

Blackbird singing in the [shade/dark] of night,
lift the mask from your eyes and look sharp.
All your life,
you were waiting for the moment that you’d be free.

Blackbird on the wing,
blackbird on the wing,
into the dark light of the night!

[Níall Beag]

I think "tioc" here is a variant of "diog" -- a second. Listening to the recording, it sounds more like a G than a C anyway. Julie's spelling's probably influenced by the English tic-toc -- a second is a "tick" of an old clock, hence the Gaelic and also English expressions such as "just a tick", "two ticks".

[Níall Beag]

into the dark light of the night!

Almost. Note the unusual use of two articles:

dhan t-solas dubh na h-oidhche!

If it was the dark light of the night, it would only have one article:
do sholas dubh na h-oidhche

So it can't be (solas dubh) na h-oidhche, but must instead be solas (dubh na h-oidhche). The two articles are acceptable here because "dubh na h-oidhche" qualifies as a "close compound" that is effectively treated as a single word. It's equivalent to the somewhat archaic English "black of night" -- here "black" is a noun, and dropping "of night" would not mean a simple loss of clarity, but an almost total loss of meaning.

[poor_mouse]

Mòran taing, a Nèill! Tha sin glè inntinneach.

[Seonaidh]

Inntinneach. "dhan t-solas dubh na h-oidhche": 's dòcha "into the night-black light" no rudeigin coltach.