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Coisich a Rùin

Fieldworkers
Date 08 August 1956
Track ID 30240
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1956.098.1

Original Tape ID

SA1956.098

Summary

In this waulking song a woman asks for greetings to be taken to her beloved, Sean Caimbeul, in Harris. She praises him for his hunting skills and tells that they often lay together in a secret hiding place.

The song then changes to praise Clan MacNeil and tells that they took to sea though the weather was inclement. The ship's carpenter is praised for making her so secure and watertight. Her beloved is aboard and steering the boat as she makes for the waters of the Clyde.

The song changes again to reflect on how she would feel if her beloved was taken from her by the grey seas.

A section of the song was omitted and added at the end. It refers to an engagement ritual, although it is not for her and her beloved. She states that if she heard that another was flirting with him that she would tear her hair out from the roots.

Item Notes

Eighty one-line verses, with vocables between each verse. Additional verses are added at the end.

See:
'Hebridean Folksongs' vol. 2 (John L. Campbell & F. Collinson eds., 1977) p. 144
'Òrain Luaidh Màiri Nighean Alasdair' (K. C. Craig ed., 1949) p. 36
'One Hundred and Five Songs of Occupation from the Western Isles of Scotland' (F. Tolmie ed., 1911) p. 211
'Songs Remembered in Exile' (John L. Campbell ed., 1990) p. 92

Language

Gaelic

Genre

Song

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good