Ailein duinn
Ailein duinn (in German: dark-haired Alan ) is a Scottish Gaelic lament that was written for Ailean Moireasdan ("Alan Morrison") by his fiancée Annag Chaimbeul ("Anna Campbell"). Around the year 1773 should Ailein of Lewis , the northern part of the twin islands of Lewis and Harris have set sail from to Ann on Scalpay and Taransay , both islands near the isthmus between the two peninsulas of Lewis and Harris to marry. However, the ship sank whereupon Anna lost her will to live and died a few months later. She is said to have been buried on Rodel Beach on Harris , where Ailein's body is said to have washed up on the beach. Before she died, Anna composed this lament for her lost love.
text
There are different text and melody versions. The most common is the one used in the film Rob Roy :
Scottish Gaelic
- Gura mise tha fo éislean
- Moch sa mhaduinn is mi 'g éirigh
- Sèist:
- Ò hì shiùbhlainn leat
- Hì ri bhò hò ru bhì
- Hì ri bhò hò rinn o ho
- Ailein Duinn, ò hì shiubhlainn leat
- Ma 'se' n cluasag dhut a 'ghaineamh
- Ma 'se leabaidh dhut an fheamainn
- Ma 'se' n t-iasg do choinnlean geala
- Ma 'se na ròin do luchd-faire
- Dh'òlainn deoch ge b 'oil le càch e
- De dh'fhuil do choim 's do' n déidh do bhathadh
German translation
- How sad i am
- When I get up early in the morning
- Choir (after each stanza):
- Ò hì, I would go with you!
- Hì ri bhò hò ru bhì
- Hì ri bhò hò rinn o ho
- Brown-haired Alan, ò hì, I would go with you!
- If the sand were your pillow
- If the seaweed were your bed
- If the fish were your bright candle.
- If the seals were your guardian.
- I would drink though everyone loathed it
- from your heart blood after you drown.
Use in pop culture
- Tiësto's song A Tear in the Open opens with a solo voice by Ailein Duinn.
- Tomb Raider: Legend : The soundtrack includes the song with an Ave Maria chorus.
- a melody by Angel Tears called Ishka .
- Another version of the lament can be found in the track Cura Me by Signum.
- Capercaillie and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha from Celtic Woman have recorded an interpretation by Ailein Duinn.
- One version was used in the credits of Rome: Total Realism .
- The song is also used in the Chaos Legion cave battle .
- In small elements it is occasionally used in the computer games on CSI: On the trail of the perpetrators .
- Worlds Inside My Heart by Mohicans includes parts by Ailein Duinn.
- The early music band Quadriga Consort has Ailein Duinn for the CD Ships Ahoy! rearranged and brought in.
- Annwn's album "Aeon" features a sensitive vocal version of the song with harp accompaniment.
Individual evidence
- ^ R. Watson: The Poetry of Scotland: Gaelic, Scots, & English, 1380-1980 , Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002, pp. 462-464. ISBN 0-748-60607-6 .
- ↑ Entry: Song beginning 'Ailein Duinn shiulain leat' and accompanying story , University of Edinburgh ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Entry: Song entitled 'Ailean Duinn' and accompanying narrative , University of Edinburgh ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive )