Blair Collection > Celtic monthly > Volume 2, 1894

ss
THE CELTIC MONTHLY.
GAELIC AIRS TO LOWLAND SONGS.
Bv Malcolm MacFaklane.
Continued from page G4.
7. Fear Ciiul-charn — Maid of Isla. I am
glad to be able to testify to Knockie's correct-
ness in this instance. A friend from Easter
Ross having whistled what I felt to be a Gaelic
tune in my hearing, I en(iuired its name, and
ex]jressed a wish to have it. He told me it was
Fear Cliul-charn ; and between us we wrote it
down. I give it here, and the reader will see
that it is a marching set of "The Maid of
Isla."
fear cuul-ciiarn.
Key D.
Id :n.s|n : ~|s :l.s!n : —
Id :n.s|n : — |1 :s |r : —
Id : n.sin : — |s :l.sln : —
Id : n ., s I n — | 1 ., t : d' .,1 | s .n : r
I d'.,r':d' .,1 1 s .,1 : s .,n | d' .,r' : d' .,1 1 s .n : r
|d'.,r':d'.,l|s.,l:s.,n | 1 .,t:d'.,l |s.n:r||
8. An Caimbeulach dubh — Roy's Wife. Also
called " The Ruffian's Rant."
9. Robaidh donn gorach (or Robaidh tha tliu
g6rach) — Daft Robin. To this air, or variants
of it, are sung, in Scotland " Todlin' hame,"
"My ain fireside," "Johnnie Armstrong," " Earl
Douglas's Lament," " Carronside," " The Maid
of Seluia," and "The days o' Langsyne" (not
"Auld Langsyne"); in Ireland, "The lame
yellow beggar,'' " The wild geese," " Bonnie
Portmore," " The boys of Kilkenny," and the
beautiful and popular '' The meeting of the
waters ; " while in the Highlands, as far as I
know, we have only Na laithewi a dli' aom and
A' Clmairt Shamraidh.
10. lonbhar Calla — Tibbie, lass, I've seen
the day (Burns). The tune is often named
" Invercauld's reel."
11. A h-uile taobh a sheideas gaoth — Of a'
the airts the win' can blaw (Burns). That the
Gaelic and English ntunes translate one another
is suspicious. At the .same time, it is admitted
on all hands that the tune is a northern one,
having been perfected by Marshall, by whom it
wa.s named " Miss Admiral Gordon's Strath-
spey." Its simplest form is that associated
with "The Lowlands of Holland." I have met
in some book the Gaelic equivalent of this name,
but cannot recall which. The Irish have a song
of the same name, but the music ditlers.
12. Braigh a' bhadain — Coming thro' the
Craigs of Kyle. This tune is in Brcmner's
Collection, 1764. It is better known as '• Owre
the muir amang the heather."
13. Bailc nan Granndach — Green grow the
rashes. I have seen a claim to this tune put
forward for Ulster. But as Scottish tunes are
naturally common there, its claim loses much of
its force. The times attached to Orange songs
are mostly Scottish. Indeed, it may be here
noticed tiiat " Boyne Water " is most probably
a Scottish tune. It occurs in various forms in
connection with the following songs : — " When
the King comes owre the water," " The wee, wee
German Lairdie," " To daunton me," " Lady
Keith's Lament," and theid shin (see Mac-
bean's " Songs of the Gael ").
14. A h-uile fear a Muideart — Wat ye wha's
in yon town. To this air are also " I'll aye ca'
in by yon town," and " I'll gang nae mair tae
yon town." It appears in Gunn's pipe music
collection under the name, Cha teid mi Jein a
cheilidh.
15. An gille dubh mo laochan — Is there for
honest poverty. There is in the style of this
tune evidence sufficient to establish its claim to
be Gaelic. Beyond this, however, a variant of
the air is found attached to a song called
" Donald Couper," preserved in Playford's
Dancing Master, 1657. Again, in a poem by
Cleland, on the Highland Host, about 1679,
the following quotation occurs : —
" Trumpets sounded, skenes were glancing ;
Some were Donald Couper dancing."
But primitive as the music of " Donald Couper "
is, '' For a' that " is much more Gaelic in style.
In some parts of the Highlands Mo nigliean dubh
tha boidheach dubh is sung to the air.
16. Nighean donn a' chota bhuidhe — Lassie
wi' the yellow coatie. These names translate
each other. Rob Donn has a song, the chorus
of which includes these words : —
" A nigh'neig a' chota bhuidhe,
Dean do shuidhc cuide riuni."
1>. R. Mackinnon, Gaelic comic vocalist, .sings a
song with a similar refrain, somewhat after the
following fashion : —
NIGIIEAN DONN a' CIIOTA lillUIDIlK.
Kky a.
S| ., lilsi ., li : d ., r
Iduu a' cliuta bhuidhe.
.li|S| .Si
A I nigheiui
In ., d
b,\in do
f ., ri r ., d : 1, .,
sluiiiUic cuiilu riuiii ;
d IS| .Si ; s, ., 1,1 Si .,1, : d ., r
A Inighoau ihnui :i'|cliotu lihiiidln^,
In ., d : s ., nir : d . 11
I Doau do 8hiiidlie{ lamh rium. ||
The air given in Maver's collection differs from
the above. It has, nevertheless, iioints of resem-
blance, and would go better to Rob Dona's
words than to the above.
(y'u be continued).