Mòrag, ‘s i Mòrag
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions
This is a lively tune! It’s a song about a boisterous wedding, at which a lady called Mòrag was the lucky bride. Several women are named in this song, but no men are named. This is a popular type of Gaelic song called Puirt à Beul, meaning ‘a tune from the mouth’ or ‘mouth music’. This type of song is often light-hearted, occasionally bawdy, in nature. This version is sung by Sìneag MacIntyre. Watch the video to get a feel for the song.
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions
As with many Gaelic songs, this has a simple chorus. We’ll begin with vocabulary:
| ainmeil | famous |
| banais | wedding |
The first two lines are really simple to learn:
| 'S i Mòrag, 's i Mòrag, 'S i Mòrag a rinn a' bhanais | It was Mòrag, it was Mòrag, It was Mòrag who had the wedding |
The final lines are also nice and simple to learn:
| Mòrag, 's i Mòrag, A rinn a' bhanais ainmeil | It was Mòrag, it was Mòrag, Who had the famous wedding |
Are you feeling confident? Let’s put all four lines together and start to work on the complete chorus:
How are you getting on? For the first verse, here’s the vocabulary you need:
| dubh | black |
| an-uiridh | last year |
| bliadhna | year |
| latha | day |
| riamh | ever |
The first two lines are commenting on the darkness of the bride’s hair:
| Bha i dubh an-uiridh, Agus tha i dubh am bliadhna | She was black-haired last year, And she's black-haired this year |
The second two lines continue:
| 'S bha i dubh a h-uile latha, Chunnaic mise riamh i | She’s been black-haired every day, That I have ever seen her |
Let’s put the four lines together:
