Gaelic Song : Bothy Band - Fionnaghuala

[nadaoferie]

This is my favorite Bothy Band song. Thank you for posting!

[ShunkawakanOkawingha]

You can't help hea yer father was, and we Scots call whoever has the heart of a scot a scot. :)

[nadaoferie]

@ShunkawakanOkawingha Wow! My Lokata name is Shunka Wia Wakan! Nice 2 meet you! Are you Scot?

[ShunkawakanOkawingha]

@nadaoferie I am hahaha. I am Grant, Stuart, and Henderson on one side, The other is French Canadian-Irish. I was given my Lakota name from my Lakota family when I was 14

[bballman]

He taught me the chorus so I joined him on that.

[Brengor69]

Dónal Lunny ag canadh, nach bhfuil?

[UISTMAN59]

@Brengor69 Micheál O Domhnaill le Triona Ni Dhomnaill agus Dónal :-)

[bballman]

My brother can sing this he learned it word for word from this recording.

[UISTMAN59]

@bballman How about yourself.?

[CelestialElf]

Very Beautiful, love it :D

[Elderwilliam]

I'm sure I've still got the LP on Vinyl "old hag you have killed me""

[RabidFangirl1]

@gnomynn I second that. AMEN. 

[Betrina123]

this is a fast amazing song

[miabia2295674]

I love singing along to this song. It's so exciting!

[mrdomxh]

Is this original bothy band or is this a modern remake? Anyway its beautiful... Thanx a lot...

Domien

[UISTMAN59]

@mrdomxh It's the original.

[mrdomxh]

@UISTMAN59 wow that's amazing... Do you happen to know from which album this is and if you can still buy it?

[UISTMAN59]

@mrdomxh It's from "Old Hag You Have Killed Me" which was recorded in 1976. Avauilable on Amazon and probably elsewhere.

[SCOTCHSOLACE]

MultiTim1959 - Thank You!

[MultiTim1959]

@SCOTCHSOLACE ....your wish is granted,,,

[stengweed]

@SCOTCHSOLACE that's a pity. You should be proud of your own culture.

Can't believe that your comment is the highest rated.

[UISTMAN59]

@stengweed Who knows but the thumbs up may just be for the opening statement but remember that there are an awful lot of Americans who "have always wished to be Irish and Scottish" so it's totally believeable . It is good to be proud of one's own culture of course, as you say. Thanks for the note. :-)

[McAleen]

i stand corrected...that was what i was told by friends from ireland...is there a way to get the words to it in english? i would like to know what i am singing then, and the rest of the story behind the song.

[McAleen]

its mouth music...and words are not made to make sense.

[UISTMAN59]

@McAleen The song is 'Eilean nam Bothan' which is translated 'The Island of Huts' The words in this case be translated and do make sense. While the subject of the song may not be of any great importance, its is quite wrong to say that "words are not made to make sense."

[LindsayCurran]

Love this! Love the Bothy Band!!! Thanks!

[UISTMAN59]

A great band indeed. They did one other recording of a song in Gaelic which I must post some day :-)

[Rellucmot]

CAn I get the lyrics some where?

[UISTMAN59]

@Rellucmot The lyrics are listed on the top right hand side of the page. :-)

[Brewdison217]

I saw Old Hag you Have Killed Me in an antiques center for two bucks, and I had never heard of the band and it looked interesting so I picked it up. This song just has a great sound.

[DonniJay]

What a lovely sound! Hypnotic! The accent does sound nice too. Great harmonies and so tight too!

[EncapsulandoAires]

I'm sorry, my english is really poor...but..this song is about Fionn the Fenian??? =)

[UISTMAN59]

@EncapsulandoAires No, Fionnaghuala is a man's name which used to be more common than it is now. In English it is rendered as Fingal,

[nealdolphin]

Pardon if someone said the answer to this already, but when was this song originally written? I assume its not modern, but I may be wrong... anyone know the history?

[UISTMAN59]

I thinks its very old. :-)

[nealdolphin]

But how old? :)  I am really specifically looking if its pre-1600...

[UISTMAN59]

I suspect it isnt but that's only because of the reference to the use of the darrow or handline (dorgh) which I think may be more recent than that :-)

[legato699]

I love it! ;-) But what is it about? About drinking? Huts? War?

[almussalix]

Definitely demonstrates the musical quality of the language. Having no knowledge of Gaelic, they just sound like vocal instruments.

[Scotsguy53]

Many,many thanks to you Uistman and others like crtUK,tommytscotland,dunkeldre­cords who bring sounds of home to us on the other side of the world, Listening to music like this,Dougie MacLean,Aly Bain,Phil and John Cunningham,Karen Mathieson,Dick Gaughan etc make my day,I even tune in to The Dogs Party by Matt McGinn on here for a smile now and then.

[UISTMAN59]

Thanks Scotsguy53

[sleslie23]

Great song. I hope the language, music, and culture are kept alive!

[thegenericgnome]

i known excellence when i hear it although i am not of my native tounge.......i hang my head in shame but this is excellent

[daskarf]

an e Gaeilge na h-Èirinn a th' ann? cha chuala mi riamh e mar seo ach tha e sgoinneil da-rìribh.

[UISTMAN59]

Gaidhlig Albannach ach seinneadaran a Eirinn :-)

[emROARS]

Hon caniad'n arddunol. Diolch yn fawr iawn am postio y caniad.

[mowingbymoonlight]

When I was a kid, I had a tape of "Sweeney's Men" that I lost many many years ago. I can't find another one anywhere and they're not on iTunes. I particularly remember one BEAUTIFUL, slow vocal song on it that was sung in Gaelic. It's been in my head for 20 years... Can anyone help?

[UISTMAN59]

A few LPs / Cds of Sweeneys Men are listed here and there - The Legend Of Sweeneys Men. / The Tracks of Sweeney, 1969 (LP) /Sweeney's Men, 1968 (LP) and CDs in 2002 2004 but no Gaelic songs on them as far as I can see :-(

[nfsfilms]

Mi=Me/I or Mine right?

[UISTMAN59]

Yes for the 1st part but not the 2nd. In simple cases of subject and object , it is fairly straightforward, there are seven subject and object pronouns. The order of elements in a sentence is always verb - subject - object: e.g. "Thog mi i" (I lifted her) - "Thog i mi" (She lifted me). The subject and object can be emphasised as in e.g. "Thog mise ise ach cha do thog ise mise" (I lifted her but she did not lift me.) Complications often arise where a pronoun follows a preposition. :-)

[nfsfilms]

Oh okay thank you :D

I just wondering, do you know of any sites or such things with a how to pronounce Gaelic letters?

[UISTMAN59]

Google the phrase "The Sounds of Scottish Gaelic" and go to the top site which has the heading "Fuaimean na Gàidhlig"

[nfsfilms]

Thanks man :D

[waterfront5000]

Scottish Gaelic was the language spoken by Gaels, a Celtic Tribe, who inhabited the Western Isles of Scotland. It slightly differed from Brythonic and Pictic, the languages of two other Celtic Tribes in Scotland. Nowadays only about 70,000 still speak Gaelic, whilst Brythonic and Pictic have become extinct.

[nicodagger]

what do the words mean in English? this is a beautiful song!

[00JTM]

Man they can sing fast!! thanks for posting UISTMAN59.

[UISTMAN59]

They sure can ! : -)

[KiernanKate]

Anuna does a version of this song, that's faster.

[UISTMAN59]

Thanks for the note Kate. Faster is not neccessarily better and I don't think Anuna's version is better at all. I prefer this one. :-)

[KiernanKate]

I understand. I prefer Anuna's, we're all different. :) Happy listening.

[UISTMAN59]

Don't understand why someone gace this 2 thumbsdowns . It's fair comment Kate :-)

[KiernanKate]

Ah who knows.... some might just not like me. I don't care much, but thanks :)

[Jamjareyes]

Is aoibhinn liom an bothy band, go han-maith ar fad agus ceapaim go bhfuil an piosa seo go hairithe ar fheabhas, Bualadh bos an bothy band! ;D

[UISTMAN59]

Ta an ceart agat. :-)

[dustykeeler]

Is maith liom

[treintjefop]

Wie lust er een haring? ha ha ha !

[bb3ca201]

I love the song -- but even for puirt-a-beul, I feel that they perform this WAY too fast. Even Gaelic-speakers find it hard to keep up with them!

[Obiwankenobistarfish]

I feel exactly the same way :)

[shariet2000]

Centuries ago when I taught music in Dublin schools I used to play this to my 1st year classes and ask "What language is this in?". I can't recall a single instance when the first guess was "Gaelic" (whether Irish or Scottish). One of my all time favourites and added to my playlist. Thanks for putting it up!

[Erma9]

I haven't a clue what they sing, but I just love it! It's ( a bit )magical. Thanks for posting the video UISTMAN59!

[syr1811]

Wow! Love this song. Have heard it before, but never knew who did it. Thanks a lot UISTMAN - Great upload.

[hamza1256]

very good

[UISTMAN59]

Thanks for your comment, hamza1256 :-)

[thepopemobile97]

i love the songs of my homeland :D

[UISTMAN59]

So you're from Scotland then?

[thepopemobile97]

naw man i thot this was irish :L

[McAndy89]

Don't worry buddy, its fairly similar to your native tongue anyway.

[trollfiddler]

It *is* irish

[UISTMAN59]

I'm sorry to disagree but you are quite wrong trollfiddler. The lyrics posted on the right are Scottish Gaelic, not Irish. I don't know of any version which reads "oileán na mbothan" which would be the Irish Gaelic, rather than "eilean nam bothan" which is definitely Scottish Gaelic.

[trollfiddler]

Hi,

Yes, I agree with you, I posted a comment to that effect yesterday but it seems to have disappeared. All I'm saying is that The Bothy Band are not singing the lyrics as written in the right. Listen to the start of first verse for confirmation.

[UISTMAN59]

That's probably me hitting the wrong button again - sorry!. I'll grant that Michael sings something like

"Thuirt an gobha fuiridh mi"

'S thuirt an gobha falbha mi" rather than what's written but even if his diction is not the best, overall its not too bad at all. He makes a better job of "Oran Chuluim Sgaire" another Scottish Gaelic song. Thanks for your note. :-)

[KiwiinIreland]

Damn the 500 character law, this is the second part Bheirinn fead air fulmairean Bheirinn fead air falmairean Liuthannan beaga na mara Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo\ Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo\ Cha d'thuirt an dadan a' seo\ Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn

[UISTMAN59]

Thanks but since this is already printed in full on the right hand side - "(more info)" section so I don't understand why you had to print it again?

[KiwiinIreland]

Thuirt an gobha fuirighidh mi

'S thuirt an gobha falbhaidh mi

'S thuirt an gobha leis an othail

A bh' air an do\rus an t-sa\bhail

Gu rachadh e a shuirghe

Se/ist

'S a gheala nam botham nam botham

Pe ho ro bha hin an doicheam

'S hala ham to han an doicheam

Am bothan a bh' aig Fionnghuala

[fergdude27]

makes me chill down my spine , Eire

[chantdelouve]

Wonderful, powerful , beautiful!

[niseach]

The song is probably better known in Gaelic as 'Eilean nam Bothan' - this is a link to the lyrics. I think Donnie 'Dotaman' recorded it. I think I had an old tape called 'Music of the Highlands' by Alistair MacDonald with it on it as well.

[killiekentman]

thanks for posting and taking the time to put on the info. can understand Gaelic a little as i spent time in Lewis. open the ears and listen. one of my favourite bands.

[bb3ca201]

This is undoubtedly the fastest that I've ever heard this song being performed. Most singers do it (even just a WEE bit) slower than this.

[pigeatinginfidel]

Aer those supposed to be the lyrics on the side there? Because I see absolutely no relationship between those words and the sounds coming out of my headphones.

[UISTMAN59]

Perhaps you would care to transcribe some of the sounds coming out of your headphones - on the other hand, you could go and learn to read and write the Gaelic language.

[pigeatinginfidel]

Worshengoll fuddameeyo shingolla fallameeyo shingoll shinohollaha vahadanotiss anolla dakhakha hidiocy Chorus nanninna bowan na bowan nanninna bowan na bowan nanninna bowan na bowan bonnahonna fonnawalla yanninna bowan na bowan nanninna bowan na bowan nanninna bowan na bowan That's the best I can do. They go too fast, so I might have missed something. I'll let someone else do the rest. It's getting too much like work.

[pigeatinginfidel]

And where can you learn this?

In World war II, we used Navajo indians to transmit messages because the Japanese couldn't figure out their language. Forget that. We'll use these guys next time. In fact, they could probably serve all the encryption needs of the government for the next several decades. Who needs the Rijndael algorithm when we have the Bothy Code?

[UISTMAN59]

Navajo is a language of extreme complexity. It had no alphabet or symbols, before 1849. A revised alphabet was produced in about 1939. It is normally spoken only on the Navajo lands of the American Southwest. Gaelic has had a written form since at least the 12th c. Gaelic lacks jklqvwxyz. h is used solely to show aspiration and lenition. Navajo and Gaelic have this in common: that they are among the estimated 3,000 endangered, seriously endangered or dying languages in our world.

[jevalles]

What is throwing you is the fact that the "pressure" of certain consonants and vowels next to each other causes Irish to change the sounds. Liguistically this is called "lenition", and is a characteristic common to all Celtic languages, to varying degrees. So, the written Irish word ends up having many more silent or modified characters than, say, English. Before spelling reform, there were many more seemingly useless characters--not to mention the Gaelic font type which has been dropped, too.

[blackorean252]

i want more sean nos! but where to find it !?

[LiamNuinseann]

Wonderful, wonderful song. Memorable. Unforgetable version. Perfect. And timeless. If only the Irish put as much effort into killing indigenous populations, conquering foreign lands, and imposing their culture on conquered peoples and calling it all 'civilisation'- we'd still be free, Irish speaking and distinct.

[pigeatinginfidel]

That's how it works, isn't it?

[brownjenkinstail]

When I was a kid I used to ask my father to play the "nan-uh-muh" song. Obviously this was the song, and it wasn't the only Bothy Band song I grew up on. This will always be the nanama song to me.

::Sentimental theme::

[ryano442]

If you like the atmosphere of this vid, check out Tenacious D, Kyle took a bullet for me...

lol

[UISTMAN59]

Tenacious D is a satirical rock band formed in Los Angeles, California.

[13Naru13]

midknight2 asked "Where can I find more music with this same kind of atmosphere?" How about Anuna, famed singers from Riverdance? They did this song at Borders, video around here somewhere... ;-)

[UISTMAN59]

"Anúna - Fionnghuala,with John McGlynn -Borders Philadelphia" Not the same kind of atmosphere at all.

[steve0281]

This is the song that hooked me on the Bothies.  It is still my favorite from them.

[trialsstar666]

amazing song this was the first gaelic song i was taught and i will never forget it or our true scottish language.

[jimdoyles]

its pure magic i love it!

[niseach]

Habost bothan - brings back many memories. My father was born about a mile away from that place. Had a few in there!

[UISTMAN59]

I was in the Nicholson Institute when Eoropie Bothan was raided (c. 1976-77?) and I thought that was pretty much the end of the bothans. Since you'd only be about 8 then, I presume they went on a bit longer?

[niseach]

The Habost bothan is still occasionally in use now - Hogmanay etc. People taking in carry outs - obviously not the same as it was.

Remember the Eoropie bothan well - was never in it, but brings back memories. One of my Dad's brothers lives right beside it (where it was). Another one lived just across from it until he passed two years ago. I spent every summer in Ness growing up - still get there nearly every year.

[luathbreacadh]

That is some song. I dont think it would be advisable to have consumed to many pints before attempting it. Loved the old black and white photo.

[UISTMAN59]

Micheal and the boys do a great job on it. The building in the photo is the Habost bothan inthe Isle of Lewis. In Irish you'd call it a sibín . For anyone outside Ireland, a shebeen is "an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages are sold" - a speakeasy to folk on the west side of the pond.

[ShellyPhotography]

oh I love this song! I wish I could find the album Stand Easy & Preview ( I think that was the name.....I am trying to remember from about 12 years ago....I want Seven Braw New Gowns ;-)

[subduralspaces]

!!!! My dad used to go to Caelis in Philly, and he helped with the recording of stuff - he has all these tapes of Bothy Band and I grew up listening to them. I nearly wore the tapes out I loved the music so much! I really need to convert them to mp3s......

I love this song too:) thanks for posting this!!!!

[billythehobbit]

these guys are good! Where did you find this gem?!

[larrycake1981]

this is Scots Gaelic methinks,not an Gaeilge ya?

[UISTMAN59]

Scottish Gaelic, as indicated by my note that this song "was learnt by Micheal from Calum Johnston of the Isle of Barra." (The Isle of Barra is not in Ireland!)

[midknight2]

Where can I find more music with this same kind of atmosphere?

[UISTMAN59]

That's a good question!

[midknight2]

I love this stuff, and it's so hard to find this kind of music anywhere...ever. I'm glad you posted it for sure!

[UISTMAN59]

Thanks midknight2. I hope you wil enjoy some of the posts too.

[amandaberesford]

I never heard this song before, I like it. thanks.

[UISTMAN59]

You are very welcome. Thanks for your note (you must be a bit of a night owl?!)

[morristonian]

Absolutely wonderful!! I lived in Ireland in 76/77 and this came out on "OLD HAG" ,it was so powerful that even Terry Wogan played it on Radio 1. Thanks so much

[UISTMAN59]

You're welcome. Thanks for your note.

[pennycarrol]

Very nice music! 5/5!

[UISTMAN59]

Thanks for the comment Penny. I posted the song with only one picture because the song stands on its own with no distractions.