'Illean Bithibh Sunndach
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This is a rousing song though some of the lyrics are sad and relate to an emotive subject. Emigration occurred at various times from Scotland to places in North America, Australia and New Zealand. The destination in this song is Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada. This was at one time a popular destination for Gaels, and Cape Breton still has strong ties to Gaelic culture. The author of the song is looking forward to a new life in the new world but there’s also a hint of sadness about leaving the homeland. This performance is by Sineag MacIntyre, let’s listen to the whole song to get a feel for it.
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Chorus first, so let’s familiarise ourselves with the vocabulary:
| 'illean | Shortened version of gillean, boys |
| gillean | boys |
| bòidse | voyage |
The first three lines are:
| 'Illean bithibh sunndach, A-null air a' bhòidse, Fàgail ar dùthcha | Boys, be happy, Going on the voyage, Leaving our country |
The next three lines are:
| Gun dùil ri thighinn beò ann, 'Illean bithibh sunndach, A-null air a' bhòidse | Without hope of doing well there, Boys, be happy, Going over the ocean |
Once you are comfortable, let’s put the six lines together to create the whole chorus:
How did you get on? Let’s gets started learning the first verse. As before, let’s crack on with the vocabulary:
| cridheil | hearty |
| aodach | clothes, in this context it refers to the cloth, or sails. |
| gaolach | loving |
| seòladh | sailing |
The first two lines of the first verse are quite hearty and urge the men to get on their way:
| 'Illean cridheil gaolach, Togaibh rithe h-aodach | Hearty, loving boys, Hoist the sails |
The verse continues in the happy boisterous manner:
| Tha buidheann mo ghaoil-sa, Dihaoine dol a sheòladh | A group of my dear folk, Are setting sail on Friday |
Let’s put the two lines together:
| 'Illean cridheil gaolach, Togaibh rithe h-aodach, Tha buidheann mo ghaoil-sa, Dihaoine dol a sheòladh | Hearty, loving boys, Hoist the sails, A group of my dear folk, Are setting sail on Friday |
