Blair Collection > Celtic monthly > Volume 1, 1893

THE CELTIC MONTHLY.
of the clans ; the correct patterns of their
respective tartans, &c., <fcc, but they are all
" Jock Tamson's bairns " at the first note of the
great Highland bagpipe. Be it even in the
streets of London, the Scotsman feels the spell.
He listens, apparently to the not too efficient
performance of the poor street piper, but in
reality he is hearing it as he heard it long ago,
in the gloaming of a summer evening, when
the music floated on the breast of some land-
locked Highland lake, and where it found a
responsive echo in the rocky shore. Without
these associations even Donald will have to
admit that amidst the noise and din of city
traffic the bagpipes would have to take second
place with the " fife and drum." We must
therefore excuse the prejudice of the average
Englishman, when he protests that there is no
music in it. For him it has no associations, he
has probably never heard it in the open country,
much less among the echoing hills and valleys of
the Highlands, where its music can be heard
miles away, especially if there are sea or inland
lochs between. Hearing its music thus, it
has a charm all its own, so impressive that it
can never be forgotten. It was under such cir-
cumstances that, I believe, the English gentle-
man to whom I have already alluded became a
convert to a belief in the real, emotional music
of which it is so full.
The classical musician of to-day believes in,
and practices principally with " music without
words." One endearing charm of our Scottish
music lies in the fact that the words associated
with each particular air are inseparably inter-
woven with them. It is a common belief that
no piper who cannot speak Gaelic can ever
acquire any efficiency on the instrument. In-
stances have been known in which a friendly
piper, stationed in the enemy's camp, was able
to give warning of their danger to his unwary
friends by playing an impromptu composition.
The author of " Colla mo riin " was one instance
of this kind. Certain it is that the native
Gaelic speaking Highlander hears the bagpipes
produce, when it is played by a Gaelic-speaking
piper, not only the " doh, ray, me, fah " of the
music, but he hears it speak to him in his native
tongue. Words recitable, or suitable to be sung
to the tune instantly occur to his mind. Take
a typical Highland wedding — a wedding of the
" good old days," when " the weather was ever
so much better, when the gooseberries were
larger, and the girls — were prettier " (I merely
quote the saying, it is not my own), then the
wedding party, en route for the manse, or what-
ever rendezvous may have been appointed for
the tying of the knot, is headed by a proudly
strutting piper, who speaks thus for the, as yet,
bridegroom elect, the latter being supposed to be
addressing the girl who is soon to be his own
as follow : —
" Cha dean mi obair, cha dean mi obair,
'Us cha 'n nrrainn domh obair a dheanamh,
Cha 'n 61 mi deoch 'us cha n' ith mi biadh
'Us do ghaol an deigh mo lionadh."
Most of your readers will be able to whistle
off the tune to which these words are adapted.
Let us pass over the ceremony, it has been so
often described, and let us follow the wedding
party on their homeward journey. The piper
"has gi'en his line's a squeeze,
And plays anither key."
This time it is —
" 'De chuireadh mnlad ort, mulad ort, mulad ort,
'De chuireadh mulad ort oidliche do bhainnse!
'De chuireadh mulad ort. caileag c)u> lurach riut,
Gheobhadh tu h-uile rud oidliche do bhainnse."
Now they have got back to, let us say, the
biggin of the bride's father. The supper —it is
supper, not breakfast or dinner, in the High-
lands — the supper is over, and the company,
animated and happy, adjourn to the barn, and
the dance commences. The bridegroom and the
bride, and the "best man" and the brides-
maid lead ott' the first reel. The company looks
admiringly on, while the piper plays —
" Cuir dhachaidh e, cuir dhachaidh c,
Cuir dhachaidh 'n t-aodach iasaid,
Is mar a cuir thu dhachaidh e
Thig teaehdaire ga iarraidh."
It was evidently unnecessary in those days for
the bride to provide her "outfit" for the occa-
sion, it was lent her. Or do the words mean
that, having got married in what, was provided
for her by her own relatives, she had imme-
diately afterwards to return them, and dun a
provision made for her by her newly appointed
lord, as evidence that she was henceforth to
depend upon him and on no one else f It would
be interesting to know in what way the tune
and the fashion it implies originated. Perhaps
some contributor to the Celtic Monthly will be
able to let us know in a future number. Let
us now pass over the rest of the dance, just as
we have passed over the other parts of the cere-
monies, until we come to the //»/-•. It is well
into the morning, and the last dance has begun
— an ruid/de mhor, or " dannsa nam pog." The
piper has once more "squeezed" his bag, and
he plays —
•• Reicidh mi mo sheanamhair 'us ceannaichidh mi
beau,
Reicidh mi mo sheanamhair 'us ceannaichidh mi
beau,
Reicidh mi mo mhathair, mo phiuthar s mo bhrathair.
Mo chinne 'us mo chairdean us ceaunaichidh mi
bean.