This song won joint first place in our Nòs Ùr 2017 songwriting competition. Read the press release.
Cionran by Ross Whyte and Alasdair Whyte.
The Gaelic term ‘cionran’ has fallen out of use but it means ‘melancholy music’. The song’s ‘ciarag’ – a Gaelic word meaning ‘little female dark one’ – is an allegory for melancholia. The English word melancholia ultimately derives from an Ancient Greek word applied to the condition of having black bile.
Jacky Bowring has recently argued that melancholia is not a negative emotion, which for much of history it wasn’t. Her argument is that it was and is, instead, “a desirable condition, sought for its ‘sweetness’ and intensity” (see Jacky Bowring, A Field Guide to Melancholy (Harpenden: Oldcastle Books, 2008)). The song explores this theme.
A’ chiarag ghrinn a dh’fhàg mi tiamhaidh, dìoghrasach, gun bhrìgh
A’ chiarag ghrinn a dh’fhàg mi tiamhaidh, dìoghrasach, gun bhrìgh
’S i a dh’fhàg mi, ghabh mi, dh’fhàg mi ’n seo leam fhìn lem mhiann
’S mi a thill, a thilleas, sireadh binneas, dèinead, pian
Teas agus deòthas
is deòthas is teas
a bhios uair an dèidh uair
’gintinn pràmh agus gean;
teas agus deòthas
is deòthas is teas
a bhios uair an dèidh uair
a’ lùghdachadh meas
A’ chiarag ghrinn a dh’fhàg mi tiamhaidh, dìoghrasach, gun bhrìgh
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