Trad Tuesday: Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill sung by Capercaillie

 

The full name of the military officer who is the subject of this song is Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill (this translates to, “Alexander the son of the Coll the Left-Handed MacDonald”). He was born in Scotland but buried in Clonmeen, County Cork, Ireland in 1647 after the Battle of Knocknanuss. This was during the Irish Confederate Wars, between the armies of Confederate Ireland and the English Parliamentarian forces.

Though the Irish lost, Alasdair Mac Colla’s bravery became well-known. After repeated attacks, his ranks continued to reform and continue fighting. After surrendering to a promise of quarter, he was shot anyway as a prisoner, causing even more bitterness towards the loss of such a famous leader.

In Ireland and Scotland, Gaelic melodies were composed in his honor, called “praise poems.” They commemorated him in the tradition of the Hebrides and Highlands, turning his deeds into tall tales now equitable with mythology for the Irish people.

The song was from the 1640s but Capercaillie is a traditional Gaelic band named after the turkey-like bird that used to proliferate the Highlands.

Trad Tuesday: The Lost Words - Spell Songs

In 2007 the Oxford Junion Dictionary caused a stir by dropping words it felt no longer had a connection with children, words like wren, willow, otter, acorn, ivy, and others. Author Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris created a lovely book The Lost Words to restore those missing words. Macfarlane's words are meant to be read aloud, a sort of spell to bring them back to life.

The book is beyond lovely, and every household should have a copy. Today is John Muir Day which gives the meaning of the book a special emphasis.

 A group of renowned UK musicians got together to write songs as a companion to the book and a way 'to sing nature back to life.' Spell Songs is the result, and a more beautiful tribute can't be imagined. Julie Fowlis and Kris Drever took the word otter and created the lovely song I picked for this Trad Tuesday: Selkie-Boy.

Trad Tuesday: Lagan Love sung by Celtic Thunder

Written in 1903 in northern Donegal by and English poet and composed in 1904 by an Irish Composer from Belfast, "My Lagan Love" is a song to a traditional Irish air. Written during a time in Irish history when it was forbidden to write openly about Ireland, or express love, devotion, or nationalism towards the country, the Irish would write songs that indirectly would reference their love for their country as a beautiful woman. The Lagan is the river that runs through Belfast, but arguably that the Lagan in the song refers to a stream that empties into Lough Swilly in County Donegal, not far from where the composer resided.

This song features in my book The Black Swans where Conn sings it to Taisie.

Trad Tuesday: This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie

Usually, I post traditional Celtic songs, but in honor of the Fourth of July holiday I'm going with Woody Guthrie's most famous folk song. "Its lyrics were written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie in 1940, based on an existing melody, a Carter Family tune called "When the World's on Fire", in critical response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America." When Guthrie was tired of hearing Kate Smith sing "God Bless America" on the radio in the late 1930s, he sarcastically called his song "God Blessed America for Me" before renaming it "This Land Is Your Land."

A March 1944 recording in the possession of the Smithsonian, the earliest known recording of the song, has the "private property" verse included. This version was recorded the same day as 75 other songs. This was confirmed by several archivists for Smithsonian who were interviewed as part of the History Channel program Save Our History – Save our Sounds. The 1944 recording with this fourth verse can be found on Woody Guthrie: This Land is Your Land: The Asch Recordings Volume 1, where it is track 14.

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
This land was made for you and me.

Lyrics

This land is your land, this land is my land
From the California to the New York island
From the Redwood Forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me
As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway
And saw below me that golden valley
This land was made for you and me

I roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me , a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

When the sun comes shining, then I was strolling
In the wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling
The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me

This land is your land and this land is my land
From the California to the New York island
From the Redwood Forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

When the sun comes shining, then I was strolling
In wheat fields waving and dust clouds rolling
The voice come chanting as the fog was lifting
This land was made for you and me

Trad Tuesday: Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy performed by Mick McAuley and Winifred Horan

Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy is one of the best-known songs from the repertoire of the Copper Family. It was published in the first issue of the Journal of the Folk Song Society, Vol. 1, No. 1, in 1899, and is printed in The Copper Family Song Book and in Bob Copper's book, A Song for Every Season. Bob and John Copper sang it on their 4 LP box set of 1971, A Song for Every Season, that accompanied the book and Jill and Jon Copper sang it on the first Coppersongs LP.


Lyrics:

Adieu sweet lovely Nancy
Ten thousand times adieu
I am bound to cross the ocean
To seek for soemthing new
Come change your ring with me dear girl
Come change your ring with me
That it might be a token of true love
When I am on the sea

And now that I am on the sea
I know not where I am
Kind letters I will write to you
From every foreign land
The secrets of my mind fine girl
The best of all goodwill
So let your body be where it is
My heart will be with you still

There's a heavy storm arising
See how it gathers round
While wepoor souls on the ocean wide
Are fighting for the crown
Our officer commands us
And it's him we must obey
Expecting every moment
For to get washed away

There are tinkers tailors shoemakers
Lie snoring asleep
While we poor souls on the ocean wide
Are ploughing through the deep
There's no-one to defend us love
And keep us from the cold
On the ocean wide where we must bide
Like jolly sailors all

And now the wars are over
They'll be peace on every shore
We'll drink to our wives and our children
And the girls that we adore
We'll call for liquor merrily
And spend our money free
And when our money is all gone
We'll boldly go to sea

Trad Tuesday: Dacw 'Nghariad sung by Eve Goodman

This Welsh folk song is recorded as being collected by Mary Davies in 1908 from a village near the Welsh capital of Cardiff. 

Lyrics:

(Am)Dacw 'nghariad i (G)lawr yn y (Em)berllan, (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. (Am)O na bawn i (G)yno fy (Em)hunan, (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. (C)Dacw'r (Am)ty, a (C)dacw'r (G)'sgubor; (Am)Dacw (C)ddrws y (G)beudy'n (Em)agor. (Am)Ffaldi radl idl al, (G)ffaldi radl (Em)idl al, (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. (Am)Dacw’r dderwen (G)wych gang(Em)hennog, (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. (Am)Golwg arni (G)sydd far (Em)serchog. (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. (C)Mi (Am)arhosaf (C)yn ei (G)chysgod (Am)Nes daw (C)‘nghariad (G)i ‘ngy(Em)farfod. (Am)Ffaldi radl idl al, (G)ffaldi radl (Em)idl al, (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. (Am)Dacw'r delyn, (G)dacw'r (Em)tannau; (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. (Am)Beth wyf gwell, heb (G)neb i'w (Em)chwarae? (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. (C)Dacw'r (Am)feinwen (C)hoenus (G)fanwl; (Am)Beth wyf (C)nes heb (G)gael ei (Em)meddwl? (Am)Ffaldi radl idl al, (G)ffaldi radl (Em)idl al, (Am)Tw rymdi (G)ro rymdi (Am)radl (G)idl (Am)al. English Translation THERE IS MY LOVE There is my love down in the orchard, Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al. Oh how I wish I were there myself, Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al. There is the house and there is the barn; There is the door of the cow house open. Ffaldi radl idl al, ffaldi radl idl al, Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al. There is the gallant, branching oak, Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al. A vision, lovingly crowned. Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al. I will wait in her shade Until my love comes to meet me. Ffaldi radl idl al, ffaldi radl idl al, Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al. There is the harp, there are her strings; Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al. What better am I, without anyone to play her for? Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al. There’s the delicate fair one, exquisite and full of life; What nearer am I, without having her attention? Ffaldi radl idl al, ffaldi radl idl al, Tw rymdi ro rymdi radl idl al._