Play recording: Tiarna Randal, An
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- Teideal (Title): Tiarna Randal, An.
- Uimhir Chatalóige Ollscoil Washington (University of Washington Catalogue Number): 781515.
- Uimhir Chnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann (National Folklore of Ireland Number): none.
- Uimhir Roud (Roud Number): 10.
- Uimhir Laws (Laws Number): none.
- Uimhir Child (Child Number): 12.
- Cnuasach (Collection): Joe Heaney Collection, University of Washington, Seattle.
- Teanga na Croímhíre (Core-Item Language): Irish.
- Catagóir (Category): song.
- Ainm an té a thug (Name of Informant): Joe Heaney.
- Ainm an té a thóg (Name of Collector): Cynthia Thiessen.
- Dáta an taifeadta (Recording Date): 06/03/1978.
- Suíomh an taifeadta (Recording Location): University of Washington, United States of America.
- Ocáid an taifeadta (Recording Occasion): day class.
- Daoine eile a bhí i láthair (Others present): Fredric Lieberman.
- Stádas chóipcheart an taifeadta (Recording copyright status): unavailable.
‘The story we had … [was] that his newly-married wife… gave him an eel full of poison for his dinner. And that his sister was sitting by his bedside, asking him questions. ‘Where were you all day? Cé raibh tú ó mhaidin, a dhriotháirín-ó?’ And then, ‘What will you leave your father? What will you leave your mother? What will you leave your brother? You know. What will you leave your wife?’ And he said, ‘Ifreann mar dhúiche aice. Hell may be her destiny. Flaithis a bheith dúinte uirthe. Heaven may be shut against her.’
And then he had two sons, according to this story, too, and she asked him, ‘What will you leave your little sons?’ ‘Hopping,’ he said ‘from place to place, begging their food,’ he said, ‘and ending up with the same way’ he said ‘I’m dying now.’ He was bitter, and who wouldn’t be? And this is the way they used to sing it at home.’
Cé raibh tú ó mhaidin, a dhriotháirín-ó?
Cé raibh tú ó mhaidin, a phlúir na bhfear óg?
Ag iasgach ‘s a foghlaéaracht,
Cóirigh mo leaba dhom
Tá mé tinn fó mo chroí, agus ligí dhomh luí.
Céard a d’ith tú ar do dhinnéar, a dhriotháirín-ó?
Céard a d’ith tú ar do dhinnéar, a phlúir na bhfear óg?
Eascann a raibh lúib uirthe,
Nimh fuinte brúite uirthi.
Tá mé tinn fó mo chroí, agus ligí dhomh luí.
Céard a fhágfas tú ag do daddy, a dhriotháirín-ó?
Céard a fhágfas tú ag do daddy, a phlúir na bhfear óg?
Eochair mo stábla aige
Sin is mo láir aige
Tá mé tinn fó mo chroí, agus ligí dhomh luí.
Céard a fhágfas tú ag do bhean phósta, a dhriotháirín-ó?
Céard a fhágfas tú ag do bhean phósta, a phlúir na bhfear óg?
Ifreann mar dhúiche aice,
Na Flaithis a bheith dúinte uirthi.
Tá mé tinn fó mo chroí, agus ligí dhomh luí.
Céard a fhágfas tú ag do mháithrín, a dhriotháirín-ó?
Céard a fhágfas tú ag do mháithrín, a phlúir na bhfear óg?
Dhá bhfágfainn saol brách aice
D’fhágfainn croí cráite aice.
Tá mé tinn fó mo chroí, agus béad go deo deo.
Translation
Where have you been all day, little brother?
Where have you been all day, flower of young men?
Fishing and hunting,
Make my bed for me,
I am sick to my heart, and I want to lie down.
What had you for your dinner, little brother?
What had you for your dinner, flower of young men?
An eel cooked in herbs
With poison pressed into it
I am sick to my heart, and I want to lie down.
What will you leave your daddy, little brother?
What will you leave your daddy, flower of young men?
The key to my stable
And my mare for him
I am sick to my heart, and I want to lie down.
What will you leave your wife, little brother?
What will you leave your wife, flower of young men?
Hell for her dwelling-place
Heaven being closed to her
I am sick to my heart, and I want to lie down.
What will you leave your mother, little brother?
What will you leave your mother, flower of young men?
If I were to leave her eternal life
I would only leave her a broken heart
I am sick to my heart, and always will be.
Notes
Although on this occasion Joe attributes the questions to Lord Randal’s sister, he explains elsewhere that a dhriotháirín (brother) is a form of address that can be used by a friend as well as by a sibling, and that therefore the questions might not necessarily have come from a family member. On one occasion he says that his grandmother thought the questioner might have been the dying man’s aunt. At other times Joe included two further verses:
Céard a fhágfas tú ag do dhriotháir [or do dheirfiúr (your sister)]?… Eochair mo thrúinc aige, sin is míle púnt aige
Céard a fhágfas tú ag do chlann mhac [or do chleamhnaí (your in-laws)]?… Fuacht fada is seachrán, is oíche ar gach bothán
With regard to this second verse and the reference to the in-laws, this legacy seems fitting for them given the wife’s treachery.
Note that, in addition to changing ‘brother’ to ‘sister’ on at least one occasion, Joe often reverses the legacies to the brother and the father; on the Topic LP recorded by Joe in the 1960s, the dying man leaves to his brother each ins an stábla aige, sin is mo láir aige ‘the stallion in the stable, along with the mare.’ In the end it’s hard to tell whether Joe learned such variations at home, or whether they emerged in his own performances, perhaps as a way of maintaining his own interest in a song which contains a great deal of repetition – a fact that he himself noted in a conversation with Fred Lieberman (UW 812905).
He was also clearly conscious of the possibility of boring an American audience that had no Irish, and – as the performance given here illustrates – tended to make cuts in his songs in the Irish language, knowing that his audience would be none the wiser. Whatever the explanation, these verses tend to be variable in his performances.
The song is sung to a variant of that well-travelled and ubiquitous air usually known as The Star of the County Down. For additional verses and some discussion, see Ríonach uí Ógáin (ed.), Faoi Rothaí na Gréine: Amhráin as Conamara a Bhailigh Máirtín Ó Cadhain (Dublin, 1999), 154-6; also An tAth. Tomás Ó Ceallaigh, Ceol na n-Oileán: Amhráin a Chruinnigh an tAthair Tomás Ó Ceallaigh in Oileáin Chonamara (Dublin, 1931), 54 and notes.
This was recorded while Joe was Artist in Residence at University of Washington.