Come By the Hills - transcription assistance?

[RadCelt]

Good Day OBODies:

Would it be possible for any of you brilliant Irish linguists help me out? I found an Ireland Tourism video on YouTube, and I've been trying to find a transcription of the 1st stanza of this performance of the song (in Irish). I cannot find it anywhere online. It's a performance of 'Come by the Hills' by a Celtic Thunder performer - The English lyrics are easily found (still, lyrics seem to vary from artist to artist); but I cannot find the Irish lyrics, in this version.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8NYB4z7VS8U

Here's the lyrics in English

Come by the hills to the land
where fancy is free
And stand where the peaks meet the sky
and the rocks reach the sea
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken
is gold in the sun
And cares of tomorrow must wait
till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land
where life is a song
And sing while the birds fill the air
with their joy all day long
Where the trees sway in time, and even
the wind sings in tune.
And cares of tomorrow must wait
till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land
where legend remains
Where stories of old stir the heart
and may yet come again
Where the past has been lost and the future
is still to be won
And cares of tomorrow must wait
till this day is done.

Come by the hills to the land
where fancy is free
And stand where the peaks meet the sky
and the rocks reach the sea
Where the rivers run clear and the bracken
is gold in the sun
And cares of tomorrow must wait
till this day is done.

For clarity - I am just looking for an Irish transcription of the 1st stanza; not a translation.
if any of you are willing to assist, I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance for your time and efforts!

[wyeuro]

not sure what you mean by a transcription - how is that different from a translation? i love this song. i have a treasured old recording by the furies from a decade or so ago.
wyverne /|\

[RadCelt]

not sure what you mean by a transcription - how is that different from a translation? i love this song. i have a treasured old recording by the furies from a decade or so ago.
wyverne /|\

Hi Wyeuro! ... I am looking for Irish Text [transcription], of the 1st stanza of the song, sung in Irish, from the audio portion of the clip; (so i might learn it properly). A [translation] on the other hand, would be the English text of the Irish Language portion of the song. That's not needed, because as you can see, I provided that in the original post

I hope that's clear?
Cheers!

[Beith]

Hi Radcelt, I too like Wyeuro was confused by your asking for a transcription not a translation! but when I listened to the clip I realised it was the traditional Irish song "Búachaill ón Éirne mé" ("I'm a boy from Erne") and it was the first verse in Irish you wanted in Irish and in English?
So ~ the lyrics in Irish and English in full are here:
http://www.irishpage.com/songs/buachail.htm
And the first verse in Gaelic is what is sung at the start of the clip on YouTube. I don't know where the English lyrics "come by the hills" come from. I never heard those before and they are not the English translation of the Irish verses, but something else, perhaps a song written by Celtic Thunder based on the air of Búachaill ón Éirne mé?

Búachaill ón Éirne mé (Traditional)

Buachaill ón Éirne mé 's bhréagfainn féin cailín deas óg.
Ní iarrfainn bó spré léithe tá mé féin saibhir go leor.
'S liom Corcaigh 'a mhéid é, dhá thaobh a' ghleanna 's Tír Eoghain.
'S mura n-athraí mé béasaí 's mé n' t-oidhr' ar Chontae Mhaigh Eo.


I'm a boy from the Erne and I could charm a nice young girl.
I would not ask for her wealth as I am rich enough myself.
I own Cork, as big as it is, two sides of the glen, and Tyrone.
And not to repeat myself, I'm the heir of County Mayo.

Rachaidh mé 'márach a dhéanamh leanna fán choill
Gan choite, gan bád, gan gráinnín brach' ar bith liom
Ach duilliúr na gcraobh mar éideadh leapa os mo chionn
'S óró sheacht mh'anam déag thú 's tú 'féachaint orm anall.

I will go tomorrow to make ale in the wood
Without a cot, without a boat, without a pinch of gruel with me
But leaves of the branches as bedclothes over my head
And O! good for you! and you looking across at me.

Buachailleacht bó, mo lao, nár chleacht mise ariamh
Ach ag imirt 's ag 'ol 's le hógmhná deasa fá shliabh
Má chaill mé mo stór ní dóigh* gur chaill mé mo chiall
A's ní mó liom do phóg ná'n bhróg atá'r caitheamh le bliain.

A cowherd, my pet, I've never been accustomed to be
But playing and drinking and (being) with nice young women on the mountain
Even though I lost my wealth it's not as though I lost my senses
And your kiss is no more to me now than a shoe worn for a year.

A chuisle 's a stór ná pós an seanduine liath
Ach pós a' fear óg, mo lao, mur' maire sé ach bliain
Nó beidh tú go fóill gan ó nó mac os do chionn
A shilfeadh a'n deor tráthnóna nó'r maidin go trom.

My darling and my love don't marry the grey old man
But marry a young man, my pet, if he only lives but a year
Or you will be without a descendant to succeed you
Who would shed their tears heavily at eve or at morn. (Her offspring, that is.)

This version on the audio clip is by The Corrs, the words are a little easier to hear on it for pronunciation. Alas the Gaelic text is scrambled but you have the lyrics above.
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/c/corr ... eirne.html

Best wishes
Beith

[RadCelt]

Hi Beith:

...the first verse in Irish you wanted in Irish and in English?...The first verse in Gaelic...sung at the start of the clip on YouTube.

Thank you very much! Sorry for the confusion. I assumed the Gaelic was (based on) the English lyrics I found, and now I can see that clearly it was not; so while I was looking for the text of the Irish verse; you've provided that and the English also, which is actually what I needed.

I don't know where the English lyrics "come by the hills" come from. I never heard those before and they are not the English translation of the Irish verses, but something else, perhaps a song written by Celtic Thunder based on the air of Búachaill ón Éirne mé?

I've since learned that the song "Come by the Hills" (classified as Traditional??)- was written by Gordon Smith; a Scottish Television producer as you rightly say, to the tune of Búachaill ón Éirne mé.

I can't understand is why the Celtic Thunder producer would have their performer sing the 1st verse of the original song in Gaelic, and then the rest of the verses and chorus as a completely different song in English; all to the same music. Creative License I suppose?? Oh well... who am I to judge, it's still very enjoyable and I learned something... always a plus...

I thank you again for taking the time to do this! the Corrs clip with the Gaelic and English together is excellent.
Maybe someday I can 'wow' my family with a performance of that terrific tune.

Cheers!

[wyeuro]

is iontach thú, a bheith!
i want to learn this too. the irish words are magnificent, much better than the english lyrics imo. the furies sang this 'come by the hills' version a few years ago and i always loved the melody. they sometimes sing songs in irish so it's hard to understand why they didn't choose these lovely irish lyrics instead.
wyeuro /|\

[Oonagh]

Búachaill ón Éirne is actually a fairly easy song to learn. I learned it best from the Corrs version of their album, Home, though Damian McGinty (the boy from Celtic Thunder) has very good pronunciation and dictation and makes it easy to learn the first verse from him as well. My nephew Ayden loves to hear me sing Come by the Hills and I often use it as a lullaby for him.

I've been working on a phonetic write-out of Búachaill ón Éirne, so perhaps I'll post it here when I'm finished.

[Saibhir-Go-Leor]

Here's my transcription of Buachaill On Eirne as sung by Andrea Corrs.
By "transcription" I am providing a pronunciation guide for the English-speaker to pronounce (or sing) the words as Andrea Corrs sings them in her dialect of Irish Gaellic. Each of the singers I have heard singing this song, has a slightly (or more slight) accent change.
Another wonderful version of this song is performed by Brian O-hEadhra (i.e. O'Hara).
Andrea tends to drop her "f" sounds, while Brian uses the "f" sounds. Akin to that is that Corrs will use the "b" sound (as in "boy") whereas Brian will use the "v" sound instead.
This is NOT in all instances -- because, as one may find in the Irish tongue -- a "b" can be a "b" or a "v" depending upon what letter follows it (or precedes it! for that matter).

Note: "kh" is a gutteral "k" or "ch" sound is in "Loch Lomond"
A hyphen "-" is intended to mean that the syllable is sung closer to or or in connection with the adjacent syllable.
(bear in mind that Irish has its owns sounds that cannot be "taught" to an English-speaker absent hearing and practicing them)

My transcription of Andrea Corrs' Buachail On Eirne:

Booo-khil own air-na mays brayg hin cah-leen d'jass og
Nee eer-hin bow spray lay-hee taw may hayn sever guh l'yor
Slam Corkee daw vay-aee dis gaw hay vah glan- ess teer-owe-in
iss mura nah-ree may basis mayn ty-re aer khoontay wee oh.

Rah-hee may maw-ruck ag dayna lanna fawn khueel
Gan quit-che gan bawd gan grawneen brack aer bih lum
Akh dill'yer nah grave mar ai-dee leb-ohs muh kh'yun
So- row h'yakht manam dayg huu s' toog faykent uh-rum anon

Bookh-alot bow mo l'yoe nawr khlackt mish-ah ree-uv
Akh eg ih-mirts egg oel leh hoeg-vanaw d'jasah an sh'lyav
Maw kheil may muh store nee mow-jeh gur kheil may muh khee-al
Iss nee mow l'yum duh foeg nawn broeg at-awm-eg ka-hiv le- blee-un

[Saibhir-Go-Leor]

Brian Ó hEadhra (O'Hara) Version of Buachaill Ón Eirne

And here is Brian Ó hEadhra's version of the same song. He sings it the following Myspace TV:
(albeit, unfortunately, a very small image and very quiet sound)

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=8984588

I find Brian's version to be absolutely haughting. His voice is incredibly smooth.

My transccription of Brian Ó hEadhra's version of Buachaill On Eirne

Boo-kha lon yain-yah may s'bregin fain colleen d'jass og
Nee eer-hin bow spray lay taw may fayn sever guh l'yor
S'Lyam Corkee daw vay day gah hay vah glee-yow'na 'hiss Teer-owe-in
S'mura nah-reh may vay-cease may'n Ty-Reh aer khoontay way-oh.

Bookh aluckt bow mo l'yoe nawr khlackt mish-ah ree-uv
Akh eg ih-mirt sayg oel leh-na hoeg-mah d'yaseh faw sh'live
Maw kheil may mo store nee mow-jeh gur kheil may mo kheel
Iss nee mow l'yum duh foeg nawn vroeg Tyre kah-who le-blee-un

Rachee may marakh eh yahnoo yahnah fan h'wheel
Gan kit-cher gan bahd gan grawnin brach er bih l'yum
Akh dileur na graive mar aid-deh l'yebah os mo khyon
Es oroh y'acht mah-nam day coo stew- ai'fair-KHunt orm- anall

[RadCelt]

Thanks for the post Saibhir-Go-Leor! and especially for the link to Brian Ó hEadhra's - Buachaill on Eirne.
I thought it was the very best rendition i've heard so far - awesome, really. I'd love to download it.

[Saibhir-Go-Leor]

RadCelt:

I am sending you a Private Message.

Saibhir-Go-Leor