Á Ógánaigh an Chúil Chraobhaigh
With Halloween, or Oíche Shamhna, fast approaching I wanted to share an old lament with you all. This song, Á Ógánaigh an Chúil Chraobhaigh, is in Gaeilge but likely comes from an English ballad.
I've not been able to find the recording I first got this air from, though it is very similar to Eilís Ní Shúilleabháin. I've pasted an English translation of the lyrics below, from SongsInIrish.com. I hope this (very sad) song will help everyone remember where Halloween comes from, and maybe inspire you to light a candle or set a warm fire and food out for your ancestors that night.
Thank you infinitely, Jedd Greenhalgh, for recording and editing this for me!!!
And shout out to my ancestor Tunis for consenting to this photo op!
"Oh young man of the flowing hair, on which side are you?
Are you without a companion, and are you lying alone?’
‘Oh, I am without a companion and I am lying alone,
Who is that girl who’s asking, is it anyone alive from the country?’
‘It seems you do not recognize myself, the dearest of your heart?
While I am your quite flowing girl, who used to be by your side during the night.’
‘I do not recognize you while there is no piece of your beauty left,
That’s how the clay spoiled me, ray of sunlight and of wind.’
When my people suppose I am on my bed,
On your tomb I am from evening till morning,
Imagining I am down there with you and eternally weeping, my sorrow,
After my quite prudent girl who used to pledge herself to me as a child.
My family has been dealing with me, brothers and priests,
About me being in love with you, Mary, now when you are dead,
You were a shadow from the bad weather and a shelter from rain,
My sun of the winter day, and now you are down below the ground."
[Image description: slightly shaky video, black and white old photograph of a man with a beard in an old naval uniform, in a wooden frame, resting on a white wooden mantle with autumn leaves on it. There's a small white candle burning in front of the photo and various vases and dried flowers around.]
turnnoffyourmind
yousharknotpass
theartofmadeline
stormborns
