Mo Ghile Mear

Mo Ghile Mear

Dréachtaigh: Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill & Dónal Ó Liatháin

Seal da rabhas im' mhaighdean shéimh,

'S anois im' bhaintreach chaite thréith,

Mo chéile ag treabhadh na dtonn go tréan

De bharr na gcnoc is i n-imigcéin.

Chorus:

'Sé mo laoch, mo Ghile Mear,

'Sé mo Chaesar, Ghile Mear,

Suan ná séan ní bhfuaireas féin

Ó chuaigh i gcéin mo Ghile Mear.

Bímse buan ar buaidhirt gach ló,

Ag caoi go cruaidh 's ag tuar na ndeór

Mar scaoileadh uaim an buachaill beó

'S ná ríomhtar tuairisc uaidh, mo bhrón.

Ní labhrann cuach go suairc ar nóin

Is níl guth gadhair i gcoillte cnó,

Ná maidin shamhraidh i gcleanntaibh ceoigh

Ó d'imthigh uaim an buachaill beó.

Marcach uasal uaibhreach óg,

Gas gan gruaim is suairce snódh,

Glac is luaimneach, luath i ngleo

Ag teascadh an tslua 's ag tuargain treon.

My gallant lad

Composers: Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill & Dónal Ó Liatháin

Once I was a gentle maiden,

and now I'm a weak and worn-out widow,

my spouse powerfully ploughing the waves

beyond the hills and far from here.

Chorus:-

My gallant lad is my hero,

He's my hero, gallant lad,

I found neither sleep nor happiness

since my gallant lad went far away.

I am incessantly unhappy every day,

grieving sorely, showing signs of tears

as the lively lad was sent away from me

and, my sorrow, no news is told of him.

No cuckoo speaks sweetly in the evening

and there is no cry of beagles in the hazel forests,

nor summer mornings in misty valleys

since the lively lad was sent away from me.

A noble proud young cavalryman,

a cheerful young man with a most pleasant appearance,

a most agile grasp, swift in battle,

cutting down hordes and crushing champions.

Translated by Tom Thomson