MO CHÉAD RAINN GHAEILGE – Nótaí

Micilín Muc

Full version:

Chuaigh Micilín Muc

ar an aonach lá

ar an aonach lá

ar an aonach lá

Chuaigh Micilín Muc

ar an aonach lá

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(Micilín Muc went to the market one day, to the market one day…)

Cheannaigh sé hata le

cur ar a cheann

cur ar a cheann,

cur ar a cheann.

Cheannaigh sé hata le

cur ar a cheann,

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(He bought a hat to put on his head, put on his head….)

Tháinig sé abhaile

le port na habhann,

le port na habhann,

le port na habhann,

Tháinig sé abhaile

le port na habhann

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(He came home, along the river, along the river…)

Sciorr a chos is

thit sé isteach,

thit sé isteach,

thit sé isteach.

Sciorr a chos is

thit sé isteach.

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(His foot skidded(i.e. he slipped) and he fell in, he fell in …)

Beir ar a chluas is

tarraing é amach

tarraing é amach

tarraing é amach

Beir ar a chluas is

tarraing é amach

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(Grab him by the ear and pull him out, pull him out…)

Dilín Ó Deamhas

As we mention in the book notes, Dilín Ó Deamhas was a well-known cartoon on RTÉ during the 1980s. More info from here https://www.rte.ie/archives/2015/0304/684233-seachtain-na-gaeilge-dilin-o-deamhas/ quote below:

Irish-language programme for children with a story about Nóra and her pet fish.

The 1980s children’s programme ‘Dilín Ó Deamhas’ took its name from the traditional Irish song sung in the opening titles. In this extract, Cathal Póirtéir consoles his co-presenter Máire Ní Bhric for not being able to fly like him. She can after all tell stories, like this one about Nóra and the pet fish who want to swim.

Gerald Victory created a composition based on the traditional song. Jan Mitchell created the collage-effect artwork for the cartoon – note the famous butterfly in the original and in ours! The band The Speks produced another version – see https://www.thespeks.com/nursery-rhymes/dilin-o-deamhas.php for more. They say:

“Dilín ó Deamhas is a traditional Irish nursery rhyme for kids. Our elders sang an English version of this sing-along song to us when we were children. It was called “She Didn’t Dance”. We have combined parts of both the Irish and English versions into one song with a Celtic theme…

Sit on a couch and hold your baby facing you in your lap. Gently bounce her on your knee and sing along to “She didn’t dance at all…” While singing “Throw her uppity up…” lift her up to your face and bring her back to your lap three times. On the third time gently lower her to the floor in time for “she will come down nearby…”

A rough translation of the verse in our book is:

We’ll throw her up and up,

We’ll throw the child up

Throw her up and up and up

And she’ll come down tomorrow.

Seán Ó Loinn

One of two Waterford songs in the book, this translates as:

Seán Ó Loinn lives over there in the valley

He and his family have nice house

He doesn’t care for hard work

But he lives happily

Oró, you are my darling

Stay there Séan love

Oró, you are my darling

Stay there happily

More info here https://storoidhreachta.com/2020/03/23/sean-o-loinn/

Thanks to Aodán Ó Ceallaigh for this song.

A Nóra Bheag

This is the second of two Waterford songs in the book, thanks again to Aodán.

Little Nóra, where were you last night

My Mammy said to me

At the back of the house at the water well

Learning dancing steps

And iomba Nóra, Nóra, Nóra

And iomba you are my sweetheart

And ioma Nóra you are my love

I’m so in love with you

iomba (‘umba’ – a non-lexical musical vocable)

Hup hup amach

This is a well-known children’s rhyme with lots of regional variants. This is a version that we half-adapted and sing with our children at home. Nicholas Williams’ wonderful collection of rhymes, Cniogaide Cnagaide, has some of them. The music came to us somewhat naturally!

Rough translation:

Hup hup, go out, oh you clumsy-footed pony

We’ll be in An Daingean (Dingle) this time tomorrow

Mamaí will put your shoe on, Daidi the nail,

And we’ll be in An Daingean this time tomorrow.

Huisín

This is definitely the most unusual of all of the songs in the book. I first came across the lullaby on itma.ie – Irish Traditional Music Archive — Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann – William Campbell sings it at the Dublin Oireachtas of 1908 (here: https://www.itma.ie/digital-library/sound/husheen-william-campbell)). I haven’t heard any other recordings of it but have seen variations of it written in Cniogaide Cnagaide (Williams) among other collections.

Rough translation

Oh who is this lying down

So soundly at the door of my heart

From east or west come the shadow of night

Lithely and quietly

Husheen, Hush-oh, Hush is la-la lo-o-o…