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Amhráin Gaelach tradisiúnta #2 |
| Curfá Téir abhaile riú Téir abhaile riú Téir abhaile riú Mhary Téir abhaile riú 's fan sa bhaile Mar tá do mhargadh déanta. Is cuma cé dhein é nó nár dhein Is cuma cé dhein é Mhary Is cuma cé dhein é nó nár dhein mar Tá do mhargadh déanta. Pós an piobaire Pós an piobaire Pós an piobaire Mhary Pós an piobaire dtús na hoíche Is beidh sé agat ar maidin. Níl do mmhargadh Tá do mharghad Níl mo mhardadh déanta Tá do mhargadh Níl do mhargadh Tá do mhargadh déanta | Chorus Go home with you Go home with you Go home with you, Mary Go home with you and stay at home Because your match is made. It doesn't matter who made it or who didn't It doesn't matter who made it, Mary It doesn't matter who made it or who didn't Because your match is made. Marry the piper Marry the piper Marry the piper, Mary Marry the piper at the start of the night And you'll have him in the morning. My match isn't, Your match is, My match isn't made. Your match is, My match isn't, Your match is made. |
Although a light-hearted exchange, the text suggests a paternalistic dynamic in the social context of traditional Ireland. The woman isn’t to be out socialising if she already has a partner. Rather, she should “fan sa bhaile” (stay at home). Of course, the song has a mischievous tone and alludes to an overnight marriage. But the fact that it’s a source of humour leads us to believe that it was taboo for a woman to have a flippant romantic interest in a man.
Alternatively, the song has been interpreted as a parental plead for a daughter to return home to marry an eligible piper, with whom a match has been made by the families. Given how she argues with them, it’s likely that the match was made without the daughter’s consent. This is perhaps a more realistic perspective on the historical context of relationships in rural Ireland, especially given the import attached to land, tradition and the family name in rural Ireland. This attitude is still ongoing for many Irish families, even though the tradition of matchmaking is largely a thing of the past.
Alternatively, the song has been interpreted as a parental plead for a daughter to return home to marry an eligible piper, with whom a match has been made by the families. Given how she argues with them, it’s likely that the match was made without the daughter’s consent. This is perhaps a more realistic perspective on the historical context of relationships in rural Ireland, especially given the import attached to land, tradition and the family name in rural Ireland. This attitude is still ongoing for many Irish families, even though the tradition of matchmaking is largely a thing of the past.
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The Irish song tradition is all about telling stories. The beauty of this tradition is that the stories are so rich and the melodies so beautiful. Often, they are treated as texts/poems – or simply as airs – but, combined, the singer has the tools to transport the listener to another place; to an ‘Ireland of old’. Of course, for as long as the singer sings the song, this ‘Ireland of old’ continues to exist. With every ornamental variation or altered lyric, the tradition evolves and adapts. There is no single way to perform these songs, but it is integral to performance that the singer understands the song’s context; its history, stylistic influences and cultural significance. The singer must tell the story of the song.
ÓRÓ SÉ DO BHEATHA BHAILE
| As Gaeilge / In Irish 'S é do bheatha, a bhean ba léannmhar Dob’ é ár gcreach do bheith i ngébheann, Do dhúthaigh bhreá i seilbh méirleach, 'S tú díolta leis na Gallaibh! CÚRFA Óró,'s é do bheatha abhaile, Óró,'s é do bheatha abhaile, Óró,'s é do bheatha abhaile, Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh, Tá Gráinne Mhaol ag teacht thar sáile, Is Fianna Fáil 'na mbuidhin gharda, Gaeil féin 's ní Francaigh ná Spáinnigh, Is ruagairt ar na Gallaibh! CÚRFA A bhuí le Dia na bhfeart go bhfeiceam, Muna mbímid beo ina dhiaidh ach seachtain, Gráinne Mhaol is míle gaiscíoch Ag fógairt fáin ar Ghallaibh CÚRFA | As Béarla / In English [Translated by Pádraic Pearse, who was executed by firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol on 3 May 1916 for his role in the Easter Rising] Welcome, oh woman who was so afflicted, It was our ruin that you were in bondage, Our fine land in the possession of thieves And you sold to the foreigners! CHORUS Óró, You're welcome home, Óró, You're welcome home, Óró You're welcome home... Now that summer's coming! Gráinne O'Malley is coming over the sea, Armed warriors along with her as her guard, They are Gaels, not French nor Spanish... And they will rout the foreigners! CHORUS May it please the King of Miracles that we might see, Although we may live for a week once after, Gráinne Mhaol and a thousand warriors... Dispersing the foreigners! CHORUS |
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An Amhrán / The Song
HISTORY
18th Century
The song now known as Óró sé do bheatha bhaile started life in the 18th century during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-46. This era saw the attempt by Bonny Prince Charlie, who was Roman Catholic, to regain the British throne from the Protestant monarchy. As Ireland was largely Catholic at the time, it is said that the Irish generally supported Bonny Prince Charlie and sang songs in his favour – presumably hoping that he would change the law to remove the English landowners and planters once he became King.
Óró sé do bheatha bhaile welcomes the Prince to Ireland and looks forward to his successful rebellion to banish all the English from Ireland. High hopes! The Jacobite Rebellion didn’t succeed, however, and Bonny Prince Charles failed to meet Irish expectations as a leader and liberator. Not so good for him then...
19th Century
Óró sé do bheatha bhaile appears in George Petrie’s The Complete Collection of Irish Music (1855), also titled “Welcome Home Prince Charley”. Both are marked as an ‘ancient clan march', which was something of a wedding song: the groom would welcome his lucky new bride into his home after the wedding ceremony in front of a sing-along congregation. How beautiful... By the end of 19th century, the melody was most popularly used for the sea shanty, “What shall we do with the drunken sailor?”
20th Century
Páraic Pearse liked the song, but didn’t want to celebrate Bonny Prince Charles’ rebellion, given that he wasn’t actually Irish (he was Scottish, God forbid!) and that his mighty conquest had ultimately been unsuccessful. So Pearse replaced Bonny Prince Charles as the song's subject with a legendary Irish native, effectively writing the failed Jacobite out of the song's memory for the coming century.
As the protagonist, Pearse chose Grace O’Malley / Gráinne Ní Mháille (born c. 1530 – died c. 1603), a 16th century chieftain from Galway who had been a ruthless naval and military leader, and who became a so-called patriot in the eyes of the leaders of the Gaelic revival at the end of the 19th Century. Also known as The ‘Sea Queen of Connacht’, the ‘Pirate Queen’, and ‘Granuaile’, this woman has became one of the most popular figures in Irish folklore.
The song now known as Óró sé do bheatha bhaile started life in the 18th century during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-46. This era saw the attempt by Bonny Prince Charlie, who was Roman Catholic, to regain the British throne from the Protestant monarchy. As Ireland was largely Catholic at the time, it is said that the Irish generally supported Bonny Prince Charlie and sang songs in his favour – presumably hoping that he would change the law to remove the English landowners and planters once he became King.
Óró sé do bheatha bhaile welcomes the Prince to Ireland and looks forward to his successful rebellion to banish all the English from Ireland. High hopes! The Jacobite Rebellion didn’t succeed, however, and Bonny Prince Charles failed to meet Irish expectations as a leader and liberator. Not so good for him then...
19th Century
Óró sé do bheatha bhaile appears in George Petrie’s The Complete Collection of Irish Music (1855), also titled “Welcome Home Prince Charley”. Both are marked as an ‘ancient clan march', which was something of a wedding song: the groom would welcome his lucky new bride into his home after the wedding ceremony in front of a sing-along congregation. How beautiful... By the end of 19th century, the melody was most popularly used for the sea shanty, “What shall we do with the drunken sailor?”
20th Century
Páraic Pearse liked the song, but didn’t want to celebrate Bonny Prince Charles’ rebellion, given that he wasn’t actually Irish (he was Scottish, God forbid!) and that his mighty conquest had ultimately been unsuccessful. So Pearse replaced Bonny Prince Charles as the song's subject with a legendary Irish native, effectively writing the failed Jacobite out of the song's memory for the coming century.
As the protagonist, Pearse chose Grace O’Malley / Gráinne Ní Mháille (born c. 1530 – died c. 1603), a 16th century chieftain from Galway who had been a ruthless naval and military leader, and who became a so-called patriot in the eyes of the leaders of the Gaelic revival at the end of the 19th Century. Also known as The ‘Sea Queen of Connacht’, the ‘Pirate Queen’, and ‘Granuaile’, this woman has became one of the most popular figures in Irish folklore.
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
In the song, Pearse used ‘Granuaile’ to represent the Irish diaspora coming home to fight off the ugly foreigners. This was a powerful sentiment in the context of Ireland’s noble independence movement, which led to the Easter Rising (1916), the War of Independence (1919-1921) and the Irish Civil War (1922-23).
Granuaile came to be seen as an Irish patriot who stood up against foreigners to protect Ireland. She became a metaphor for Gaelic Ireland in the early 20th Century. Whereas Bonny Prince Charlie had come to Ireland with foreign soldiers, the idea of being 'native' is emphasised in Pearse’s lyrics: “Gaeil féin 's ní Francaigh ná Spáinnigh / They are Gaels, not French or Spanish.”
As one of the leaders (and subsequent martyrs) of the movement against British government in Ireland, Páraic Pearse believed that changing the lyrics would tell a strong story in favour of Irish independence. He was right – his ideas survived longer than he did! That's the power of song.
Throughout the 20th century and still to this day, Óro sé do bheatha bhaile has been taught to schoolchildren and teenagers in colleges across Ireland and abroad. It remains part of the traditional, folk, and pop repertoire for Irish singers in the 21st Century. Above, you can see a sean nós version sung by Darach Ó’Catháin in 1980, a 1962 performance in Chicago given by The Clancy Brothers, and a 1990 performance by The Dubliners. Below is a typically groovy recording by Sinéad O'Connor from 2003, and some further listening - in case you want to hear a Hungarian artist's take on the tune!
Granuaile came to be seen as an Irish patriot who stood up against foreigners to protect Ireland. She became a metaphor for Gaelic Ireland in the early 20th Century. Whereas Bonny Prince Charlie had come to Ireland with foreign soldiers, the idea of being 'native' is emphasised in Pearse’s lyrics: “Gaeil féin 's ní Francaigh ná Spáinnigh / They are Gaels, not French or Spanish.”
As one of the leaders (and subsequent martyrs) of the movement against British government in Ireland, Páraic Pearse believed that changing the lyrics would tell a strong story in favour of Irish independence. He was right – his ideas survived longer than he did! That's the power of song.
Throughout the 20th century and still to this day, Óro sé do bheatha bhaile has been taught to schoolchildren and teenagers in colleges across Ireland and abroad. It remains part of the traditional, folk, and pop repertoire for Irish singers in the 21st Century. Above, you can see a sean nós version sung by Darach Ó’Catháin in 1980, a 1962 performance in Chicago given by The Clancy Brothers, and a 1990 performance by The Dubliners. Below is a typically groovy recording by Sinéad O'Connor from 2003, and some further listening - in case you want to hear a Hungarian artist's take on the tune!
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Dónal Kearney
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