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Proofreading requested
Original lyrics
Caoineadh Cill Chais
Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan adhmad?
Tá deireadh na gcoillte ar lár;
níl trácht ar Chill Chais ná ar a teaghlach
is ní bainfear1 a cling go bráth.
An áit úd a gcónaiodh an deighbhean
fuair gradam is meidhir thar mhnáibh,
bhíodh iarlaí ag tarraingt tar toinn ann
is an t-aifreann binn á rá.
Ní chluinim fuaim lachan ná gé ann,
ná fiolar ag éamh cois cuain,
ná fiú na mbeacha chun saothair
thabharfadh mil agus céir don tslua.
Níl ceol binn milis na n-éan ann
le hamharc an lae a dhul uainn,
ná an chuaichín i mbarra na ngéag ann,
ós í chuirfeadh an saol chun suain.
Tá ceo ag titim ar chraobha ann
ná glanann le gréin ná lá,
tá smúid ag titim ón spéir ann
is a cuid uisce go léir ag trá.
Níl coll, níl cuileann, níl caor ann,
ach clocha is maolchlocháin,
páirc an chomhair gan chraobh ann
is d' imigh an géim chun fáin.
Anois mar bharr ar gach míghreann,
chuaigh prionnsa na nGael thar sáil
anonn le hainnir na míne
fuair gradam sa bhFrainc is sa Spáinn.
Anois tá a cuallacht á caoineadh,
Gheibheadh airgead buí agus bán;
's í ná tógadh seilbh na ndaoine,
ach cara na bhfíorbhochtán.
Aicim ar Mhuire is ar Íosa
go dtaga sí arís chugainn slán,
go mbeidh rincí fada ag gabháil timpeall,
ceol veidhlín is tinte cnámh;
go dtógtar an baile seo ár sinsear
Cill Chais bhreá arís go hard,
is go bráth nó go dtiocfaidh an díle
ná feictear é arís ar lár.
- 1. or cluinnfear
michealt
FaryTranslation
Lament for Cill Chais
What shall we do with no timber?
The last of the woods is cut down;
There's no trace of Cill Chais or of it's family
and its bell will never more be used.
That place, the dwelling of the good woman
who gained honor and joy beyond all other women,
Earls used to be drawn across the seas to it
when the sweet mass was said.
I don't hear ducks or geese there,
nor an eagle crying beside the sea,
nor even the bees going to their work
bringing honey and combs to the people.
The sweet honeyed music of birds is not there
when we see the daylight leaving us,
nor the cuckoo on top of the branches
from which she invites the world to rest.
A mist is falling onto the trees there
That sun nor daylight will clear,
A stain is falling from the sky there
And its waters are all dried up.
There's no hazel, no holly, no rowan there,
but rocks and bare stony ground,
the shared lands bare of trees there,
And the game has wandered away.
Now as the height of the bad news
the prince of the Gaels went overseas,
Over there with the maiden whose mildness
was honoured in France and Spain.
Now her company laments,
they who received yellow money and white;
it is she who would not take the people's possessions,
but was a friend to the genuinely poor.
I beseech Mary and Jesus
that she may come back safely to us,
that there may be long dances being danced1 around,
violin music and bonfires;
that this home of our ancestors, lovely Cill Chais,
be raised up again to the heights,
and forever, or until the deluge comes2
may it not be seen again on the ground3.
The author of translation requested proofreading.
It means that he/she will be happy to receive corrections, suggestions etc about the translation.
If you are proficient in both languages of the language pair, you are welcome to leave your comments.
It means that he/she will be happy to receive corrections, suggestions etc about the translation.
If you are proficient in both languages of the language pair, you are welcome to leave your comments.
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Na Casaidigh: Top 3
| 1. | Trasna na dTonnta |
| 2. | Báidín Fheilimí |
| 3. | Caoineadh Cill Chais |
Comments
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About translator
Any edits I've made to this page since about 2018 are edits to these submitters comments only, so shouldn't affect any translations.
The lyrics above date from 1846 or earlier according to Nua Dhuanaire 1 from the Dublin Institúid Ardléinn, but the song is a bit older than that. I think Na Casaidigh diverge from that text in several places, For example I hear "cluinnfear" or maybe "clingfear" in the first verse where the 1846 version had "bainfear", and they have "go brath" in the penultimate line where the original had "go deo" and they omit one stanza (I think the omission is the 5th stanza of 6). I prefer the version sung by Ciarán Bourke of The Dubliners, because his accent seemed much more pleasing to the ear and is easier for a Scot to decipher, but he sang only verses 1, 2 and 6 instead of all the verses and anyway I can't now find even an ancient disc of him singing it. I seem to remember also having a record of the Wolfe Tones singing this, but I've lost that too and can't remember which album it was on or which verses they sang.