Ghruagach Dhonn
Ghruagach dhonn a' bhroillich bha\in
Chum do cho\dhail rium Di-ma\irt,
Ghruagach dhonn a' bhroillich bha\in
Gu ma sla\n a chi\ mi thu.
Ghruagach dhonn gun gho\ gun fhoill
Chum a' choinneamh rium an raoir,
Bha mi co\mhradh riut 'sa choill
Sinn an caoimhneas di\omhaireach.
Rinn mi coinneamh riut gle/ o\g
Ann an coille dhlu\th nan cno\
'S binne leam do guth na ceo\l
'S tha do pho/g mar fhigis leam.
Gu ma fallain 's gu ma sla\n
Do'n te rinn co\dhail rium Di-ma\irt,
Iarguin m'aigne 's m'airsneul phra\mh
'S mo chion-ghra\idh da-ri\readh thu.
TRANSLATION:
Brown-haired maid with the fair bosom,
who kept an appointment with me on Tuesday,
brown haired maid with the fair bosom
I hope I shall see you in health
Brown haired maid without deceit or guile
who met with me last night
I was talking to you in the woods,
together in a secret kindness.
I met you, when we were very young,
in a dense hazel grove,
your voice is sweeter to me than music
and your kiss seems like sweet fruit to me.
I wish health and happiness
to the one who met with me on Tuesday,
the sadness of my thoughts and my depressing sorrow
and my true love for sure are you.
(I guess that third line means he's pining away for her all the
time except on Tuesdays?) CC
Word list
---------
aigne (akN'@) mind, attention, thoughts
(one of the few words in gaelic where gn is
pronounced with "n" rather than nasal "r")
airsneul (ar's'nj'l) depression, weariness
ann (a:n) ann an: in. The preposition "an" is
often doubled to form "ann an".
bha\in (va:n) inflected (genetive feminine) form of ba\n, fair
binne (biN') sweeter, sweetest; comparative of binn, sweet
bhroillich (vrL'x') bosom, breasts, front (gen sing of broilleach)
caoimhneas (k': (v)n'@s) kindness
ceo\l (k'o:l)] music
cion-ghra\idh.......ardent love (cion = desire,love,fondness)
(k'n %ra:j) (The trouble with "cion" is that it can mean
deficiency or lack instead of love, and that's
the meaning in many compounds; so learners should
avoid making up compounds with it, for fear of
saying the opposite of what they mean.)
cno\ (kro: ) nut (nom sing), of nuts (gen plural)
coille nan cno\ = hazel grove
[k@L'e n@ gro: ]
(many short words are the same in the nominative
singular and in the genetive plural; you have to
work it out from context; here it's preceded by
the genetive plural "nan" of the definite
article, so it's obviously plural.)
co\dhail (ko:%al') meeting; cum co\dhail = keep an appointment
coill [koL'] used here as an abbreviation of "coille";
not an abbreviation to be recommended, as
"coill" normally means "guilt" or "sin"
coille (k'L'), (koL'): grove; wood
coinneamh (koN'u ), (koN'v) meeting; cum coinneamh = hold a meeting
co\mhradh [ko: r%] conversation
chum [xum] kept, held, maintained (past indep. of cum)
da-ri\readh [dar'ir%] indeed, for sure; in earnest, serious
di-ma\irt [d'@ma:r's't'] Tuesday
di\omhaireach [d'i:ver'ox] private, secret; lonely
dlu\th [tlu:] close, near; dense, thickset
donn [do:uN], [dauN] brown; dark (of complexion)
fallain [faLaN'] sound, healthy, wholesome
figis [fikis'] fig
foill [fL']
deceit, wrong
gle/ [gle:] very
go\ [go:] fault, defect; deceit, falsehood
gruagach [grugax] young woman, maiden
gun [gun] without
guth [gu] voice
iarguin [irkin'] sorrow, grief, pain
leam [L'um] with me, by me (prepositional compound le+mi)
mar [mar] as, like
nan [nan] of the (genetive plural)
po/g [po:k] kiss
pra\mh pra:v] dejection, weariness, sleepiness, drowsiness
raoir [r'ir'] an raoir [@ r@r'] yesterday evening
(an oidhche raoir: last night)
rinn [rN'], [raiN'] did, made (past indep. of dean)
(note velar [r], not palatal [r'])
rium [r'um], [rum] against me (prep. compound: ri + mi)
riut [r'uxt], [rut] against you (prep compound: ri + tu)
sinn [s'iN']
we, us
sla\n [sla:n] healthy, well
CC
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!