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A selection of MP3 files of Seoirse's music through the years. All for free!

Dónall agus Mòrag

Traditional song from Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim, using a mixture of Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gàidhlig. It tells of the ructions at the wedding of a Scottish lass and an Irish lad. The island delicacy at the feast is sgarbh (cormorant)!

Recorded in Balnain House, Inverness (1998).

Composed by Trad. Arr. Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh

Composed: 1995

Musicians

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony & bodhrán, Bob Palor, percussion

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Lyrics for Dónall agus Mòrag

Bhí mórán daoine uaisle ann

Is tuatanaigh na hAlban ann

Bhí máistir scoile ‘san ministir ann

‘s an dlíghadóir Mac Cormaic ann

Curfá: Dónall ‘sé Dónall

‘sé Dónall a rinn’ a’ bhainis

Dónall agus Mòrag a rinn’ a’ bhainis ainmeil

Bhí cearc ann is bhí gé ann

Bhí scór is dúisín sgarbh ann

‘S a mhéid de éanlaith a bhí ann

Is í an chearc an t-éan a b’fhearr bhí ann

Bhí ól ann is bhí ceol ann

‘gus chuile sheoirt de cheoltóir ann

Bhí triúr de lucht na fidile ann

Ag seinm ceoil go maidin ann

Bhí an dí go fiall ‘s go fairsing ann

Bhí brandaí, fíon is bainne ann

Bhí poitín still is “take your fill”

Go leor do gach mac Éireann ann.

Bhí mórán daoine uaisle ann

Is tuatanaigh na hAlban ann

Bhí máistir scoile ‘san ministir ann

‘s an dlíghadóir Mac Cormaic ann

Is Fhada Leam an Oidhche Gheamhraidh (Long to Me is the Winter’s Night)

The poet Murdo Mac Farlane (1901-1982) left his native Lewis on the west coast of Scotland and emigrated to Canada. He finds the winter nights on the prairie cold, long, lonely and uneventful. Looking for solace he imagines that he can hear the ebbing tide on his island shore. Tears flood his eyes when he thinks of old friends, of good company, of the céilithe and the music.

Recorded in Balnain House, Inverness (1998).

Composed by Murdo Mac Farlane (1901-1982) Arrangement: Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh (1993)

Composed: 1993

Musicians

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals & guitar, Heather Innes, vocal harmony,

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Lyrics for Is Fhada Leam an Oidhche Gheamhraidh (Long to Me is the Winter’s Night)

‘S fhada leam an oidhche gheamhraidh

‘S fhada ‘s fhada ‘s fhada leam i

‘s o chan fhaic ach préiridh lom ann;

Chan chluinn tonn a tigh ‘ann gu tràigh mi

Séisd:

Fáili, fáili, fáili óro

‘s cian nan cian bho dh’fhàg mi Leódhas

‘Nàm don fheasgar bhith ri ciaradh

‘S tric a bhios mo chridhe cianail

Cùimhneachadh g’eil cian nan cian uam

Far ‘m bu mhiann leam dhol a chéilidh

Ach càite, càite nochd an téid mi?

Chan ‘eil céilidh air a’phréiridh

‘S o chan fhaic mi ‘n àm dhomh éirigh

‘N àirde ‘g éirigh ceò na mònach

Pilleadh chun Oileáin (Returning to the Island)

A stormy night… the fishing boats return…soon it’s the warm glow of the inside of the tavern where turf fires blaze brightly and pretty barmaids dispense copious draughts of uisce beatha to the fishermen of the island. And just when the company is settling down to an oíche go maidin by the fireside, to a night of music, song, story and laughter, yet another well-loved character crosses the threshold ….Hiúdaí Bhriain Eoghain!

Composed by Pádraig Ó Baoighill & Ned Curran. Arrangement: Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh

Composed: 1993

Musicians

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals, Steáfán Hannigan, percussion, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony, Mike Cosgrave, keyboards, guitar,

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Lyrics for Pilleadh chun Oileáin (Returning to the Island)

Curfá:

Líon muid na gloiní ‘gus líon muid na cártaí,

‘Gus d’ól muid ár sáith i dtoigh Hiúdaí Sheáin Óig

Bhí an géarbhach ‘s an bháisteach amuigh ar na sclátaí

Nuair isteach ar a’ táirseach tháinig Hiúdaí Bhriain Eoghain.

É féin is a bhaicle a’ tarraingt ón choigchríoch

A brath dhul chun oileáin is an oíche mar bhí

Ach bhí an géarbhach ‘s an bháisteach róthrom ag na rámhaí

‘S chaith siad a gceirtlín in íochtar a ‘toigh.

Bhí tine mhór mhónadh chomh croíúil is chomh craosach

‘S na gloiní a’ loinnriú go cíocrach os ár gcomhair

Bhí an portar mar uachtar is an leann go deas cumhra

‘S an bhruinneall dheas álainn ag síor-dháileadh beoir.

Tharraing muid ar a’ chlúdaigh ‘s na gloiní ‘nár gcrúba

Is d’ordaigh muid póitín de bhunadh Bhriain Eoghain

A leithéid d’oíche a theacht chun na tíre

‘S gan críostaí ar na gaobhair ó mhaidin go neoin.

Tháinig ainnir dheas álainn go caoin ‘s go mánla

‘S a gruaig dheas fhionn-bhán anuas lena gruaidh

Chuir sí na gloiní anuas ar na clárthaí

“Bíodh an deoch sin ar bord ó Hiúdaí Sheáin Óig”

Bhí róisteacha gaoithe ‘s an fharraige a’ búirthigh

Bhí an t-oileán faoi smúid dhubh amuigh ins an cheo

Ní fhéadfadh mac máthara dhul amach ins an oíche

Ach bhí féile ‘gus fáilte ‘dtoigh Hiúdaí Sheáin Óig.

Thoisigh na scéaltaí is an seanchas ón choigchríoch

Ceol agus amhráin agus glionndar go leor

Ach fág mar atá sé ‘gus spreidheamh ar an aimsir

Beidh óiche go maidin ‘dtoigh Hiúdaí Sheáin Óig.

The Flower of Magherally O

Magherally in Co. Down was the ancestral home of the Brontë (O’Pronty) family. I often wondered if Charlotte and Emily’s father Patrick ever heard the song in his childhood. The recording here is from a broadcast on WDR in Cologne, Germany, in 1998.

Composed by Trad. arranged and adapted by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh

Composed: 1998

Musicians

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals and guitar, Andreas Völlmecke, guitar

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Lyrics for The Flower of Magherally O

One pleasant Summer’s morning

when all the flowers were springing O,

Nature was adorning and the wee

birds sweetly singing O,

I met my love near Banbridge town,

my charming blue-eyed Sally O,

She’s the queen of the County Down

the Flower of Magherally O.

With admiration I did gaze

upon this blue-eyed maiden O,

Adam wasn’t half so much pleased,

when he met Eve in Eden O,

Her skin was like the lily white,

that grows in yonder valley O,

She’s my queen and my heart’s delight

the Flower of Magherally O.

Her yellow hair in ringlets clung,

her shoes were Spanish leather O,

Her bonnet with blue ribbons strung

her scarlet cap and feather O,

Like Venus bright she did appear

my charming blue-eyed Sally O,

She’s the girl that I adore

the Flower of Magherally O.

I hope the day will surely come,

when we’ll join hands together O,

It’s then I’ll bring my darling home,

in spite of wind or weather O,

And let them all say what they will,

and let them reel and rally O,

For I shall wed the girl I love,

the Flower of Magherally O.

The Moving On Song (Go! Move! Shift!)

A Ewan McColl song. The link piece in the song is a Breton dance tune that Seoirse inserted to give a more Romany feel to the piece.

Recorded in London (1995).

Composed by Ewan McColl, arranged and adapted by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh.

Composed: 1995

Musicians

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals and guitar, Steáfán Hannigan, percussion & pipes, Heather Innes, vocal harmony

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Lyrics for The Moving On Song (Go! Move! Shift!)

Born in the middle of the afternoon

In a horse-drawn carriage on the old A5.

The big twelve-wheeler shook me bed

“You can’t stay here” the policeman said.

“You’d better get born in some place else”

Move along, get along,

Go! Move! Shift!”

Born on the common by a building site

Where the ground was rutted by the trail of wheels

The local Christians said to me

“You’ll lower the price of property.

You’d better get born in some place else”

Born at tatie lifting time

In an old fold tent by a tatie field

The farmer said “The work’s all done,

It’s time that you was movin’on.

You’d better get born in some place else”

Born at the back of a hawthorn hedge

Where white hoar frost lay on the ground.

No eastern kings came bearing gifts

Instead the order came to shift.

“You’d better get born in some place else”

The eastern sky was full of stars

But one shone brighter than the rest

The wise men came so stern and strict

And brought the orders to evict.

“You’d better get born in some place else”

Wagon, tent or trailer born

Last year, last month or in far off days

Born here or a thousand mile away

There’s always men nearly who’ll say

“You’d better get born in some place else.

Move along, get along,

Move along, get along

Go! Move! Shift!”

The Bonny Black Hare

The source of this unusual song was an Irish labourer called “Mr. Morrow” who sang it in Walberswick, Suffolk, in 1938. The time signature is a rare one: 9/8 (3+3+3) and “mixed” 8/8 (3+2+3). Seoirse says he was more interested in the musical challenge of such an unusual item than its saucy lyrics. Nobody believes him.

Recorded in London (1995).

Composed by Trad. arranged and adapted by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh

Composed: 1995

Musicians

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals & guitar, Steáfán Hannigan, percussion, Heather Innes, vocal harmony

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Lyrics for The Bonny Black Hare

On the fourteenth of May at the dawn of the day

With me gun on me shoulder to the wood I did stray

In search of some game if the weather proved fair

To see could I get a shot at the bonny black hare.

Oh, I met a young girl her with the face of a rose

Her skin was as fair as the lily that grows

I said “me fair maiden why ramble you so

Can you tell me where the bonny black hare do go?”

Oh, the answer she gave me, her answer was “No,

“But under me apron they say it do go

And if you’ll not deceive me oh I vow and declare

We’ll both go toghe’r to shoot the bonny black hare.

Oh, I laid this girl down with her face to the skies

I took out me ramrod and me bullets likewise

I said “Lock your legs round me and dig in with your heels

For the closer we get, love, the better it feels.”

Now the birds they were singing in the bushes and trees

And the song that they sang was “Oh she’s easy to please”

I felt her heart quiver and I knew what I’d done

Says I “Have you had enough of me old sporting gun?”

Oh, the answer she gave me her answer was “Nay,

It’s not often young sportsman that you come this way.

But if your powder is good and your bullets play fair

Why don’t you keep firing at me bonny black hare?”

“Oh, me powder is wasted and me bullets are gone,

Me ramrod is limber and I cannot fire on.

But I’ll be back in the morning and if you are still there

We’ll both go again to shoot the bonny black hare.”

Ag Geaftaí Bhaile Buí (At the Gates of the Yellow Town)

One of the “big” songs of West Donegal, this particular one is now only heard in Ranafast. It’s a rather intense love song with undertones of bitterness and loss. The man who is speaking in the song has taken his sweetheart, late one night, to a favourite nook up in the mountains, but has fallen asleep. She leaves him there and then, thinking, apparently, that he has lost interest in her.

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh’s arrangement here is the first mix. The second mix which appeared on the album “Dúlamán a’ tSléibhe” (2002) was not to Seoirse’s liking. This first one, he feels, is much better.

Composed by Trad. arranged and adapted by Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh.

Composed: 1995

Musicians

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals and guitar, Steáfán Hannigan, percussion & flute, Aodh Mac Ruairí, vocal harmony, Heather Innes, vocal harmony, Mike Cosgrave, keyboards & piano accordion, Saskia Tomkins, cello

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Lyrics for Ag Geaftaí Bhaile Buí (At the Gates of the Yellow Town)

Ag geaftaí Bhaile Buí a rinne mise an gníomh

A bhí amaideach baoth-dhéanta

Ealódh le mnaoi seal tamaillt insan oíche

Ar neamh-chead ‘a raibh faoi na spéartha

Mar bhí mé lag gan bhrígh gan mhisneach i mo chroí

‘S í agam ar mhín shléibhe.

Bhí an codladh ‘a mo chloí ‘gus b’éigin domhsa luí

Agus d’imigh sí ‘na fíor-mhaighdean.

‘Gabháil a luí don ghréin fán am seo aréir

Is agamsa bhí ‘n scéala buartha

Ba é a shamhailt domhsa a’ té a shínfí insa’ chré

Ó’s a Mhuire, nach mé an truaighe!

‘Sé deirfeadh mo chairde a’ méid acu bhí ‘láthair

“Altaigh leis na mná, a bhuachaill”

‘S a’ méid a ngoillfeadh orthu mo chás ghoillfeadh siad a saith

Fa mo chroí a bheith ‘mo lár ‘na ghual dubh.

Dá mbínn-se thall sa Spáinn ‘mo luí ar leabaí ‘n bháis

Agus chluinninn-se do dháil in Éirinn.

Go n-éireóchainn chomh sámh leis an bhradán ar a’ tsnámh

I nduibheagán i lár na hÉirne.

Focal ar bith mná ní chreidfidh mé go brách

‘Mura bhfá’ mise scríobhtha i mBéarla é

Gur chaith mé naoi lá ag cleasaíocht leis a’ bhás

A’ dúil go bhfuighinn spás ar éigin.

Ó, a Mhuire (a)gus a Rí, nach mairg a bíos

I dtoiseach an tsaoil le pléisiúir

‘Gus a ghiorracht is a bíos an tinneas a’ do chloí

‘S ‘a do tharraingt ar na críocha déanacha

Níl sé ar a’ domhan ní ar bith ba mhó

Is peacaí (a)gus is mó dá ndéantar

Ná an mhaighdean deas óg a mhealladh le do phóig

Is a fágáil faoi bhrón ‘na dhiaidh sin.

Corpus Christi Carol

Music composed by English composer Benjamin Britten in 1933. The text is anonymous from the Middle-Ages. Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh re-arranged it for folk ensemble in 1998.

The recording here is from a concert broadcast on WDR of a live performance in Germany in 1998.

Composed by Benjamin Britten, Arr. Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh

Composed: 1933

Musicians

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh, lead vocals and guitar, Heather Innes, vocal harmony, Andreas Völlmecke, guitar

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