From the recording The Vow, An Irish Wedding Celebration
10. The Irish Girl (An Cailín Gaelach) 2:31
(un kohl-een gale-uck )
Collector Seán O Boyle collected this song from Áodh Ó Duibheannaigh in Ranafast, Donegal in the 1930's and later printed it in his collection Cnuasacht le Cheoltai Uladh (Belfast 1944). A song much associated with the North of Ireland, Seán classifies it as a pastourelle, but believed that a few verses were missing - perhaps regarding a dowry - at a time when matchmaking still held a strong place in the culture!
Lyrics
AN CAILÍN GAELACH (THE IRISH GIRL)
B' áite liom fein bheith ar thaobh mala shléibhe
'Gus cailín Gaelach a bheith i mo chomhair;
Bheinn dá bréagadh 's a' teannadh léithe
'Gus dár liom fein, 'riú, gur dheas ár ndóigh!
Ag éirí dom féin ar maidin an lae ghil
is mé ag gabhail fán choill chraobhai is mé ag seoladh bó
tharla dom and spéirbhean ina suí ar an léana
is a fallaing léi is í lán de chnónn
Is maith an airí ar an buaibh á shantú
'Gus bheinnse á seoladh amuigh sa lá
Im agus bainne iad, 'theacht an tsamhraidh
'S mar gheall ar bhólacht a phóstar mná
THE IRISH GIRL (AN CAILÍN GAELACH)
I would love to be on the side of a hillside
with an Irish girl beside me
I would tease her and pull her closer
and I say to myself, how nice it would be
As I roved out of a morning early
when I was herding the cows
I saw a vision of a woman sitting on the pasture
and her shawl was filled with hazel nuts
It is care that the herds deserve
and I would heard them outside all day
milk and bread from them all through the summer
and for such things - young women wed.
THE IRISH GIRL (AN CAILÍN GAELACH) PHONICS
(an koll-een gale-uck) (phonetics)
Bah-at-ya lum hane veth er heave molly shlave-hah
gus kol-een gale-uck a veth muh kore
Vene ah brage-ah sah tean-i-hu lay-hah
Gus dar lum hane rua gur yass er noy
Egg i-ri dumb hane ar waid-in un lay gh-eall
smay gow-el fawn koll krave-e smay show-lah bow
hor-lley dumb un spare-van nah see er un lane-ah
's ah foll-ing lay-hah she lawn deh g'know
Deer-ey may deet-hah guh kewin is guh kale-ah
un glock-ig tu poge wam ah store muh kree
dos-kil she a bale-een gus low'er she bear-lah
she duirt she "Pray sir, and let me be"
s'mah un arr-ee er nah boo-ib a shan-tuh
gus been-sah ah showl-ah ah-m'with sah law
Imm og-us bon-yah eed, er tocked ah tower-ee
'smar yeall er vol-acht ah fose-tar manaw