Tiugainn Do Scalpaidh
Tiugainn a leannain a/ du\thaich nan gallaibh
Is seo\ladh sinn thairis le so\las,
'S the/id sinn le mire a null air an linne
Gu du\thaich mo chridh agus m'o\ige.
Chi\ thu na gleannaibh 'san robh mi nam' bhalach
Nuair bha mi 's mi amaideach go\rach.
Chi\ thu mo cha\irdean, m'athair 's mo mhathair,
'S an dachaidh 'san d'a\raicheadh o\g mi.
Gheibh thu ann fa\ilte cho milis 'sa cha\nain
A fhuair mi o m'mhathair bho m'o\ige;
Gach neach a tha ta\mh ann an eilean mo ghra\idh
Gum bi iad gu ba\idheil is comhfhurtail.
Chi\ thu ann sealladh air a\iteachan eile
Is chi\ thu bhuat Eilean a' Cheo\ as,
Chi\ thu An Cuillionn 's an ceo\ air a mhullach
Is chi\ thu bhuat Uidhist is Leo\dhas.
Cluinnidh tu torman aig tonnan na fairge
Tha bualadh Meall Halabost an co\mhnuidh,
'S bidh caoch geal na mara mar bhanaltrum bhanail
'Ga ta\ladh gu cadal bhios sto\lda.
Tha iomadach maise ri aithris 's ri fhaicinn,
'S tha iomadach beannachd 'ga cho\mhdach,
'S ma the/id thu, a chailin, do Scalpaidh na Hearradh,
Mo ghealladh gum fan thu ri d' bheo\ ann.
Vocabulary
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a\iteachan places (plural of a\ite)
aithris telling, repeating (vbl noun from aithris, tell)
amaideach stupid, crazy
a\raicheadh d'a\raicheadh: was raised (past passive of
a\raich, rear)
ba\idheil kind, friendly, affectionate
balach
a boy
banail
womanly, elegant, gentle
banaltrum a nurse
beannachd blessing, blessings
beo\ a lifetime
bualadh striking (verbal noun from buail, strike)
bhuat from you (prepositional pronoun o + tu). The
forms bhuat [vuaxt] and uat [uaxt] are used in
some dialects, bhuait [vuat'] and uait [uat'] in
others, and some people use the broad and narrow
forms according to how the following word begins.
cadal sleep (noun; the verb is caidil)
cailin
girl
ca\irdean relations (plural of caraid, friend or relation;
the plural caraidean is friends)
ca\nain language
caoch foam, froth (outer isles dialect form of cuthach)
cluinnidh will hear (future of cluinn, hear)
co\mhdach covering (verbal noun from co\mhdaich)
comhfhurtail comfortable [also can mean helpful or consolatory]
co\mhnuidh an co\mhnuidh = habitually, continually, always.
[this use of co\mhnuidh has to be distinguished from
its use as a noun meaning house/habitation/dwelling
and from its use as verbal noun from co\mhnuich,
dwell/abide/continue/stay put.
cridh a heart
dachaidh a home
du\thaich a country
eile other
eilean
an island
faicinn seeing (verbal noun from faic, see)
fa\ilte welcome, greeting
fairge
sea
fan stay (future dependent)
fhuair
got, found. past independent of faigh
gach each, every
gallaibh foreigners (non-gaels); plural of gall; it's really
the dative plural but is sometimes used for
nominative (standard goill) and genetive (gall)
geal white
gealladh promise, vow, bet (verbal noun from geall)
gheibh
will get, will find. future independent of faigh
gleannaibh valleys (pl of gleann; dative used as nominative)
go\rach silly, foolish
gra\idh of love; genetive of gra\dh
iomadach many
leannain darling (vocative of leannan: spouse, sweetheart)
linne pool, pond, or coastal waters
maise a beauty
mara of sea; genetive of muir
milis sweet (adjective; the noun is milsean)
mire flirtation, mirth, frolic, ecstasy
mullach top, summit
neach person
nuair when
null a null: thither (also a nunn)
o\ige youth
robh was/were. (past dependent of bi)
sealladh sight, view, scene
seo\ladh sail (imperative verb) (3rd person singular & plural)
the use here "seo\ladh sinn" is part of a trend to
drop the personal ending from the 1st person plural
imperative and use the pronoun instead of the ending.
so\las
consolation, comfort; cheerfulness, delight.
sto\lda steady, calm, settled, staid (verbal adjective from
sto\l, settle, become tranquil)
thairis over, across (to the far side)
ta\ladh drawing, enticing, attracting; also hushing, putting
to sleep, lullaby. (verbal noun fro ta\laidh)
ta\mh rest
the/id
will go (future independent of rach)
tiugainn let's go!
tonnan
waves (tonn, a wave) (the usual plural is tuinn, but
tonnan and tonna occur in some dialects)
torman
noise, sound, music
Translation
-----------
Let's go to Scalpay
Let's go, darling, away from the foreigners' country
and let's sail over happily,
and we'll go joyfully across over the sound
to the country of my youth which I love.
You'll see the glens in which I was a boy
when I was young and foolish
You'll see my relations, my father and my mother,
and the home I was raised in when I was young.
You'll get a very sweet welcome there in the language
that I had from my mother from my ealiest days;
all the people who lives in the island I love
are very pleasant and friendly.
You'll see views of other places there,
and you'll see the Isle of Skye across from you,
you'll see the Cuilin range with mist around its top
and you see Uist and Lewis across from you.
You'll hear the music of the ocean waves
which are always beating against Meall Halabost,
and the sea's white foam will be like a gentle nurse
lulling to a sleep that will be peaceful.
There are many beauties to tell and to see,
and there are many blessings covering it [the island]
and if, lass, you go to Scalpay by Harris
I promise you'll stay there all your life.
CC
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!