Thursday, March 11, 2021

Amhrán Dóchais

This is a Song of Hope, a poem by Osborn Bergin, written in 1913.  Here are the Irish lyrics:  Songs in Irish (indigo.ie).  (Dán a scríobh Osborn Bergin i 1913, le fonn ‘Mór Chluana’ a bhailigh Patrick Weston Joyce in 1873)

This is a very nice choir + piano version by the Aer Lingus Singers from 1973 (100 years after the tune was gathered, 60 years after the poem was written!): Amhrán Dochais - YouTube 

Here is a very beautiful version (some Ulster singing, even though the lyrics are hard-core Munster Irish) from 2020:  Amhrán Dóchais | Tonn-Fuaime | Oíche Chultúir le Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh & cairde | Culture Night - YouTube

Even the Clancey Brothers did this song!  Amhran Dochais - YouTube.  This also shows the tune in notation.

And here is my own rendition:  https://soundcloud.com/jamusn/amhran-dochais

Here is my translation:

Song of Hope

Goodbye forever to sorrow and trouble, 
Goodbye without delay to sorrowful crying;
I sing lays (poems) of hope
In the sweet tongue of Ireland
And let us stand lively
Before the world.
Oh I sing lays of hope
In the sweet tongue of Ireland
And let us stand lively
Before the world.

I will not be slow unmoving any more,
Tormented, wilted, weak and cold.
Strength and energy of youth
Pulling us through the fight
And we'll remove this fog
From the offspring of the strong.
Strength and energy of youth
Pulling us through the fight
And we'll remove this fog
From the offspring of the strong.

Children of the Gaels thriving without defeat! 
They'll be free and will win.
We will follow the lantern
That our ancestors lit before us
And we're not worried that their
Race will wither after we're gone.
We will follow the lantern
That our ancestors lit before us
And we're not worried that their
Race will wither after we're gone.

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