Fòram na Gàidhlig

...excuse the Beurla, please.

What does this line, in Julie Fowlis' song "Oganaich Uir a Rinn M'Fhagail" mean?

'S nach fhaigh mi baisteadh an Uibhist - "I will not get a baptism in Uibhst"

(Seist)

Gu ruig mi fear a' chùil bhuidhe - "Until I reach the yellow haired man"

I guess I'm missing the deeper meaning of the song. Is the woman depicted in the song unbaptized, and waiting to meet her lover on Uibhst before she is baptized as a Christian? Or is she using 'baisteadh' in more of a figurative sense, perhaps not willing to set foot on the island until she is reunited with her lover?

I'm confused. Any takers?

Chan eil fios agam idir - dè mu dheidhinn iarraidh dha Jhulie fhèin?

Seonaidh wrote:Chan eil fios agam idir - dè mu dheidhinn iarraidh dha Jhulie fhèin?

Chan eil mi a' tuigsinn. Beagan Gaidhlig na hÉireann agam, nach Gaidhlig na h-Alba.

(I just tried to say, "I don't understand, I have only a little Irish Gaelic, not Scottish Gaelic")

He was saying: Why don't you ask Julie herself?

http://www.juliefowlis.com/contact/

http://www.myspace.com/juliefowlis

I don't have access to the rest of the lyric here, but maybe the girl is pregnant and can't get the child baptised if it is born out of wedlock?

If the lyrics were on the website, I'm sure there'd be a simple explanation.

However, without more context, I'm as confused as you are.

OK, seo na briathran - here are the lyrics:

http://www.geocities.com/celticlyricsco ... anaich.htm

BHa mi ceart, saoilidh mi. Bidh na h-òganaich an-còmhnaidh mar sin anns na h-òrain - gu h-àiraidh na h-òganaich uasal!


I think I was right - young men in songs are always like that, especially the noble ones.

I doubt she's speaking of her own baptism, but rather using baptism as a metaphor for a future baby.

After reading all the lyrics, I think the song is about a young woman who's fallen in love with a young man who's left her, for whatever reason, and is vowing to not marry unless she can be with him again. The line you're referring to suggests the "baptism" is for the baby she says she will not have unless she marries this man. However, the chances of that seem bleak. The tell-tale line is "A bhean ud thall aig a chuibhle/Fhios agad fhèin mar a tha mo chridhe" (Oh woman at the spinning wheel/You know how my heart is) - she's saying a "spinster" understands her situation. That imagery strike me as pretty deliberate. A spinster is an old British term for a woman who never married and never had children, either because she couldn't find a husband or choose never to marry.