Foreign Christmas carol for Owlet!

[muckefuck]

Okay, I never did get around to learning the original Welsh lyrics to "Deck the Halls" like I planned to last year and I still stumble over the original Provençal Lyrics of "Marcho dei Rei", but this year I'm totally going to learn to sing the first verse of the Irish translation of "Stille Nacht":

Oíche chiúin, oíche Mhic Dé,
Cách 'na suan, dís araon,
Dís is dílse ag faire le spéis,
Naíon beag, leanbh ceansa 'gus caomh
Críost ina chodladh go sámh,
Críost ina chodladh go sámh.

Simple enough, right? If you just tried it yourself, you may have noticed that it doesn't seem to scan. Keep in mind that ag is silent in the third line and that when Enya sings it, she shortens ina to 'na in the last two.

Oíche chiúin, oíche Mhic Dé
night quiet, night son.GEN God.GEN

Cách 'na suan, dís araon,
everyone in.their sleep twosome both

Dís is dílse ag faire le spéis
twosome and loyalty at watching with interest

Naíon beag, leanbh ceansa 'gus caomh
infant small, child meek and tender

Críost ina chodladh go sámh
Christ in.his sleeping ADV serene

Comments

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

I wish Gaelic didn't BREAK MY BRAIN.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Do you need phonetic respellings? Believe it or not, I think it would make perfect sense to you in Cyrillic!

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

If nothing else, I'd like to see Irish phonetically rendered in Cyrillic.

[fainic-thu-fein.livejournal.com]

Naí beag gnaoi-gheal ceanán tais caomh
infant small beauty-bright ? ? ?

I happen to have that song on my playlist, so I had a listen. The actual lyrics for that verse are as follows:

Naíon beag, leanbh ceansa 'gus caomh
(A little baby, a mild agus gentle child)

Also, that should be "Críost ina chodladh go sámh" not "go séimh".

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Are you talking about the Enya version? My source for the lyrics is here and it matches almost exactly what I found on the first lyrics site that popped up.

I am disappointed that none of the version seem to talk about his curly hair, though. I would've thought one of the Gaelic Revival churchmen who took it upon themselves to translate it would've known enough German to go back to the original, but perhaps not!

[fainic-thu-fein.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm talking about the Enya version, which clearly someone has misheard. She says naíon, a mashing together of naíonán presumably or perhaps just an Ulster variant, but she doesn't say gnaoi-gheal at all. As for this ceanán tais business, it borders on nonsensical. I can see how the person who first produced this transcription might have justified their mishearings by making the leap from cion ("affection") to ceanán ("beloved one", I guess), but it's still not a word I've ever heard and it's not what Enya's singing. And tais means 'damp', so...

She definitely sings it as I've written above.

As for relying on Internet sites for correct Irish translations/transcriptions/lyrics/etc.. don't! The amount of gobbledygook out there that gets labelled as "Irish" (or "Gaelic" or "Ancient Celtic" or "Celtic Gaelic" or god only knows what else) never ceases to amaze and exasperate me.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

And tais means 'damp', so...

Yeah, I noticed that but figured it was just the 1,945th dialectal difference I've come across since trying to learn some Irish.

As for relying on Internet sites for correct Irish translations/transcriptions/lyrics/etc.. don't!

Cá bhfuil áit gur chóir dom iad a bheith ar lorg?

[fainic-thu-fein.livejournal.com]

I've had pretty good luck with this site (http://www.geocities.com/celticlyricscorner/index.htm). There are errors in places, but they aren't typically grievous.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Wow, substantially different translation for the Moya Brennan version:

Oíche chiúin, oíche Mhic Dé (Silent night, night of God's son)
Cách faoi shuain solas geal ghlé (All under clear, white light)
Leanbh Íosa ceansa séimh (Baby Jesus, gentle and mild)
Muire, Iosaf 's aingil Dé (Mary, Joseph and God's angel)
Críost, 'na chodladh go sámh (Christ, calmly asleep)
Críost, 'na chodladh go sámh (Christ, calmly asleep)

Is iontach an t-suíomh san é! Go raibh maith agat!

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Wait, what's up with ceansa 'gus caomh? I thought you couldn't use agus to coordinate attributive adjectives.

[fainic-thu-fein.livejournal.com]

What?!

That's the silliest thing I've ever heard.

[tortipede.livejournal.com]

All this Gaelic is scaring me... but I wondered, in the light of the De maitin / Ai rencontrat lo trin if you'd come across the hauntingly-beautiful-but-arguably-anti-semitic Lo voiatge:

Sant Josèp ambe Maria,
Totis dus van voiatjar,
Demandan la retirada,
Diguns les vol pas lotjar.

La Vièrja se n'es anada
Emportant son novèl nat,
A rencontrat sus l'arada
Un semenaire de blat.

- "Ont corrètz-vos bèla Dama ?
Que tan bèl efant portatz ?
- Voli l'amagar, brave òme,
Digatz me si poiriàtz pas.

- Metètz-lo jos ma capòta,
Diguns l'i vendrà trobar.
- Retorna a ton camp brave òme
Ton blat pressa de copar.

- Aquò se pòt pas, Madama,
Totara l'ai semenat.
- L'èrba monta sus l'arada,
Anem, vai cercar ton piat."

La palha, en mens d'un quart d'ora,
Aviá grandit, espigat;
Encara un autre quart d'ora,
L'espic s'èra amadurat.

La prumièra gavelada
Donèt cent còps arrasats
Quand se'n ven la banda armada
Dels Josius emmaliciats.

- "Avança aici, vièlh segaire,
Quita de copar ton blat.
N'auriás pas vist una maire
Emportant son novèl nat ?

- Si, pel temps de la crubida,
Quand semenavi mon blat.
- Anem, tornem-nos brigada,
Aquò's èra l'an passat."

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Never have. Do you know of a good recording?

[tortipede.livejournal.com]

The only one I know of is the one I've got -- which I rather think is out of print (or whatever the appropriate term for not being available in any medium is) -- given that it's on amazon.fr for the scandalous price of €78. However, there is someone here who could be more reasonable -- or if it's just one track and out of circulation I'm sure something could be arranged. What's particularly beautiful about the recording is actually the wordless a cappella accompaniment in the background -- the whole CD is for (up to) four female voices a cappella. Anyway, details follow:

Nadal Encara - Noëls occitans d'hier... aujourd'hui; Martina e Rosina de Peira, Francesa Daga, Clara; Revolum CD 198022.