Preab san Ól (Drinking and Drunk Songs)

Contrary to the stereotype of the teetotaling Irish person, we in fact do have quite a few drinking songs, and songs about being a drunkard.  These things happen!  These are generally fun and funny songs.  This being our theme this week, we'll start with a big one.  The Dubliners did this with English and Irish alternating verses - this is a not uncommon practice in Irish songs, especially as the language started to wane.  The English verses often are quite different from the Irish, and sometimes have nothing in common.  In fact, there are some quite seditious Irish songs which the English thought were something else altogether.  Others are poetic translations.  We won't be bothered with the English rubbish.  So here's a fully Irish version of

Preab san Ól

(ag cur preab san ól - to drink with gusto)

Here are the lyrics.  Note that she does the verses in a different order, and some of the particular words are different (although the general meaning is the same).  The translation is, shall we say, a bit loose.  She is an Ulster singer (sister of Moya Breathnach from Clannad).

The point of the song is summed up by the last 2 lines of each verse:

Mar sin is dá bhrí sin, níl beart níos críonna,  (And on account of that, there's no wiser move)
Ná bheith go síoraí ag cur preab san ól.          (Than to be forever drinking with gusto).

Hey, remember Tadhg from last week?  He did a cute sort of bossa nova version of this song.

Next we go full carousal with

Bímis ag Ól

(Let us be drinking).  The recording in that link is the very famous (late) Diarmaid Ó Súilleabháin and singers from Cúil Aodha, which is a Gaeltacht in Cork.

Here's the famous Jimmy Crowley version. 

Ah, for the poitín from Cúil Aodha...

The chorus sums up this song:

Agus bímis ag ól ‘s ag ól is ag ól  (Let us drink...)
bímis ag ól is ag pógadh na mban (...and be kissin' the women)
bímis ag ól is ag rince le ceol  (...and dancing with music)
is nach aoibhinn an gnó bheith á bpógadh gan tart  (ain't it great to be kissin' 'em without thirst).

A couple of vocabulary notes:

momharach, stately, noble

téanaim - let's go (from téana)

ag diúgadh - draining (our cups)

glisneathach- glioscarnach (I'm pretty sure...)

tréith - weak, feeble (as in tréithlag)

taosc - a bailing bucket full

soghach = sóch

geocach

So so much for praising drinking.  Now let's be proud to be a drunk!  This is another super famous song:

Tá 'na Lá (Níl 'na Lá)

Some songs (like Dúlaman, although that one at least says 'arsa' to give you a clue) only make sense when you realize that more than one character is speaking.  This is about a drunk and the innkeeper's daughter and the innkeeper who's trying to get rid of him, and there's another drunk too, apparently...see my copy of the lyrics below).  It's day!  No it's not!  And so on.

Needless to say, this is a popular pub song...  And needless to say, there are many different versions.

Solas did a very different, quick version of this song, which I like a lot.

There are a lot of other great drunk and drinking songs - if only we had time!  Maybe down the road.  Anyway, there's An Crúiscín Lán (which has both fighting and drinking!), Amhrán an Phoitín (which shows the many benefits of the poitín...well, curses on the revenue man who comes after the still...), Ólaim Puins, Cadé Sin don Té Sin....  Explore Youtube!  Buy some song books!  Bímis ag canadh as Gaeilge!