From the recording Between The Worlds
(Mol Vawn)
The Celtic cycle of the year was marked by four major "fire festivals": Beltaine, Samhain, Lughnasadh and Imbolc. These boundaries marked the new season, and allowed for movement between the worlds as lines along which the supernatural were thought to break through to the surface of existence. Beltaine occurred on the First of May, May Day, and marked the beginning of the "light half" of the year. It was symbolized by the white flowering hawthorn tree, around which ritual dancing took place to ensure a good harvest (Lughnasadh) later that year. Mal Bhán represents the spirit of spring after the long winter, with a raw and markedly erotic energy, celebrating the earth at its most forceful.
Lyrics
Ar meisce cha dteim nios mo,
Braon leanna go doe ni bhlaisfidh me
Or chailleas mo chailin beag og
A chuireadh im phoca an t-airgead.
Chorus:
Is fada liom uaim i, uaim i
Is fada liom uaim i o d'imigh si
Is fada liom thios is thuas i,
Malai na gCuach Ni Chuilionain.
Bhi me la amuigh ar an gcoill
Is tharla dom soilse bradoige
A dheanfadh an marbhan beo
No reice boic oig de sheanduine.
Da mbeinnse in eipir an bhais
Agus daoine dha ra nach dtiocfainn as,
Ni dheanfainn mo thiomna go brach
Go dtiocfadh si, Mal Bhan Ni Chuilionain.
Ar meisce cha dteim nios mo,
Braon leanna go doe ni bhlaisfidh me
Or chailleas mo chailin beag og
A chuireadh im phoca an t-airgead.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION Molly (Ni Chuilionain - Name) with the curly hair
Drunkenness for life I forego,
Strong ale I will taste never more,
Since I lost my pretty young maid,
Who would plenish my pockets with riches.
CHORUS:
I long for her from me, from me,
I long for her from me, since leaving me,
I long for her above and below me,
The curly haired Mal Bhan Ni Chuilionain (name)
I happened one day in the woods,
and I met a charming young maiden
She'd make a corpse come alive,
and a lovely young man of an old fellow.
If I were in the last throes of death,
Ane people could see no recovery,
I'd never dictate my last will,
'Till the arrival of Mal Bhan Ni Chuilionain
Drunkenness for life I forego,
Strong ale I will taste never more,
Since I lost my pretty young maid,
Who would plenish my pockets with riches.