Kyra Shaughnessy & Nicholas Williams - An Draighne​á​n Donn

from La Rencontre by Kyra Shaughnessy

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I first heard this piece as sung by Dominic Mac Giolla Bhride when I was scouring the internet for new Irish songs to learn. I fell in love with the melody & decided to enlist the help of my friend & Irish language coach Peadar Cox in order to create my own adaptation for the La Rencontre project. The recording you hear emerged after several months of research and pronunciation coaching, with added inspiration from Joe Heaney and Sorcha Nï Ghuairim's versions of the song,

The closest to original source Peadar could find was a literary version of An draighneán donn in a collection called "An Duanaire 1600-1900 Poems of the Dispossessed" by Seán Ó Tuama and Thomas Kinsella.

lyrics

*Translation in parentheses - traduction en parenthèses

Síleann céad fear gur leo fhéin mé nuair a ólaim leann Téann dhá dtrian síos díom a nuair a smaoiním ar a gcomhrá liom
Sneachta séite bheith dhá shíor]-chur ar Shliabh Uí Fhloinn
‘S go bhfuil mo ghrá mar a bhláth na n-áirní gabháil ar 'n draighneán donn.

(A hundred men think I’m theirs when I drink ale.
But two-thirds of me dies when I think of their talk with me.
Blowing snow, constantly falling on Sliabh Uí Fhloinn
and my love is like the blossom of sloes on the blackthorn bush.)

Fuair mé féirín lá aonaigh ó bhuachaill deas
Agus céad póg ina dhiaidh sin ó phlúr na bhfear
Lá léin ar an té (a) déarfadh nach tú mo ghean
Is a(n) lá ina dhiaidh sin nach deas mar a d'éalóinn faoi na coillte leat

(I got a gift one fair day from a sweet boy
And a hundred kisses after that from the finest of men
Woe to anyone who would say you're not my darling
And the following day how happily I'd have stolen to the woods with you.)

'S nach fear gan chéill a théanns ag dréim leis an gcraobh bhíonns ard?
is crann beag íseal lena thaobh sin ar a leagfadh sé a láimh.
Cé gurb ard é an crann caorthainn bíonn sé searbh as a bharr
is fásann sméara is bláth sú craobha ar an gcrann is ísle bláth.

(Isn't it a foolish man would aim for the high branch
with a small low tree beside him he could lay his hand on?
Though the mountain ash is tall its fruit is bitter
and blackberries and raspberries grow on the bush of the lowest bloom.)

Má thig tú choíche tar san oíche go cúl a' tí
trathnóna nó go moch ar maidin nuair a bheas an drúcht 'na luí.
Cé nach labhraim bím ag meabhrú go mór i mo chroí.
Is gur tú mo chéadsearc, is ní féidir mo chumha a chloí.

(If you ever come,come at night to the back of the house
In evening or early morning when the dew is lying
Though I don't speak I think deeply in my heart
And you are my first love and I can't overcome my sorrow.)

credits

from La Rencontre, released February 16, 2020
words & music: traditional
lyric adaptation, kyra shaughnessy& peadar cox & ,
musical adaptation: kyra shaughnessy
translation by Peadar Cox
arrangment: kyra shaughnessy, nicholas williams & cédric dind-lavoie

vocals: kyra shaughnessy
harmonium & flute: Nicholas williams

recorded by nicholas williams at l'École les enfants de la terre (Waterville, QC)
mixed by cédric dind-lavoie & louis morneau
mastered by louis morneau

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Kyra Shaughnessy Waterville, Québec

Kyra Shaughnessy’s music and writing invoke presence and awakening. Of mixed heritage, born, raised and unschooled in Québec, composing in multiple languages across genres, Kyra’s work represents a unifying vision of humanity through an artistic practice grounded in a holistic perspective of healing and respect for the interconnectedness of all life. ... more

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