Song Lyrics:

(Song all in Gaelic, with English translations in brackets after each verse/chorus)

Rann/Verse 1

Latha eile, sabaid eile
Coltas air nach stad e a' chaoidh
Ciamar idir a mhaireas mi
Gu sìorraidh air mo bhualadh leis a' ghaoith?

(Another day, another battle,
Looks like it'll never end
How on earth will I ever survive
Constantly beaten by the wind)

Tha mi a' faicinn a' ròpa sin mun do amhaich
Is thu dhen bheachd nach ruig thu Didòmhnaich
Gabh ceum siar air ais bhon an iomall
Chì thu fhèin gun deàrrsaidh a' ghrian
Tog an cuideam sin far do earball
Is bi crìoch air do phian

(I see that rope around your neck
And you thinking you won't make Sunday
Take a step back, back from the edge
You'll see yourself that the sun will shine
Take that weight off from your tail
And your pain will come to an end)

Feumaidh thu bhith làidir 'son do bhruadar a choileanadh
Is gach dùbhlan dhen iomadh seòrsa mu do choinneamh is
Ma tha thu ag iarraidh am bàrr a ruighinn
Cha bhi e furasd a' tighinn
Feumaidh thu tòrr a' bharrachd a dhèanamh na dìreach bruidhinn!

(You have to be strong to fulfil your dream
With every challenge of all sorts in front of you
And if you want to reach the top
It's not going to come easily
You have to do a lot more than just talk)

Ciamar idir a ruigeas mi am bàrr
Is gun càil fhios agam idir càit an deach mi ceàrr

(How on earth will I reach the top
If I've no idea at all where I went wrong?)

Sèist/Chorus

Guth bheag 'son mo chur a' seòladh
Gum bi mo chridhe is mo spiorad nas àirde
Guth bheag 'son mo chur a' seòladh
Gum bi mo spiorad nas àirde
Tha mi saor, saor, saor, saor

(Chorus

A little wind to send me sailing
So my heart & spirit fly higher
A little wind to send me sailing
So my spirit flies higher
I'm free, free, free, free)

Rann/Verse 2

Daonnan na mo aonar is air an taobh amuigh
Dorais gan dùnadh is e cho blàth a-staigh
Gach mionaid gach latha
Ga mo chall anns a' ghaoth
Is gun duine sam bith ann a' cur annam diù

(Always on my own on the outside
Doors being closed and it's so warm inside
Every minute of every day
Getting lost in the wind
And no one round who give a stuff)

Am bi thusa na do aingeal anns a' dorchadas
A' sabaid - gu sìorraidh an aghaidh an eu-dòchais
Tha cuideigin a' dhìth orm 'son mo chuideachadh
Air son mo chridhe is mo spiorad a àrdachadh

(Will you be an angel in the darkness
Fighting forever against hopelessness
I need someone to help me
To raise my heart and spirit)

A dh'aineoinn gach buille, donas is duilgheadas
Mi an dòchas gun deàrrsaidh a' ghrian anns mo dhorchadas
Cha dèan mi an-diugh e
Is cha dèan mi amàrach
Coimheadaidh mi gu domhainn na mo chridhe
Is tillidh mo mhisneach a dh'aithghearr

(Despite every beating, badness, and difficulty
I hope the sun will shine in my darkness
I won't do it today
And I won't do it tomorrow
I will look deep in my heart
And my courage will return soon)

Rann/Verse 3

Taing dha na fuadaichean
Mo mhuinntir ann an Alba uile ch'mhòr marbh
An spiorad 'nis nan taibhsean
A' bheatha seo nam aonar cho doirbh
Guthan mo shinnsir a' ràdh rium cùmail a' dol
Ach uaireannan tha mi cho aonarach
Chan eil mi ag iarraidh ach guil.

(Thanks to the clearances
Most of my Scottish family are dead
Their spirit now only ghosts
This life on my own is so hard
Voices of my ancestors telling me to keep going
But sometimes I'm so lonely
I just want to cry)

An tu mo charaid no mo namhaid
Ga mo chuideachadh no mo mharbhadh
Is a ghreim sin timcheall m'amhaich
Chan eil mi cinnte am faic mi amàrach

(Are you my friend or my enemy
Helping me or killing me
With that grip around my neck
I'm not sure I'll see tomorrow)

Guthan mo shinnsir na mo chluasan
Clachan is creagan mu mo choinneamh
Is mi a' call gach lùths na mo chasan
'S iad a' fàs nas àirde gach mionaid

(Voices of my ancestors in my ears
Stones and hills before me
As I lose all vigour in my legs)

They grow higher every minute
Cha robh mi riamh ag iarraidh bhith coltach ri càch
A' dèanamh an aon rud a h-uile latha
Ach cha robh fios agam nuair a thòisich mi
Gum beireadh e cho faisg mi air mo bhàs

(I never wanted to be like everyone else
Doing the same thing every day
But I didn't know when I started
That it would bring me so close to my death)

Nì mi gach rud a dh'fheumas mi airson fuireach beò
Nì mi mo dhìcheall tighinn amach às gleann nan deòr
Fhad's a tha buillean mo chridhe fhathast a' dol
Feuchaidh mi cumail orm is sguir dhen ghuil
Daonnan a' snàmh an aghaidh a' droch-shìde
Na leig dhan abhainn do tharraing sìos
Ann an ùine nach bi ro – fhada
Is cinnte gun tig -do pheanas gu crìch.

(I'll do everything I can to stay alive
I'll do my best to come out of this valley of tears
As long as my heart still beats
I'll try to keep going and stop crying
Always swimming against the bad weather
Don't let the river drag you down
In time it won't be too long
Surely your penance will come to an end)

Listen:

About the song:

Saor was written on the third day of the Columba Initiative/Bòrd na Gàidhlig-funded Inter-Gaelic Rap Project in November 2014, in Cork, by Ariel Killick working in conjunction with GMC & Bubba Shakespeare, two of Ireland's leading Irish-language rappers. It's a deeply personal song to me and this project was the first time I had ever worked with Rap or Gaelic poetry, and was the third song written during the 4-day project period. It's really about my journey of moving to Scotland to develop Gaelic work, particularly outdoor street theatre, spectacle and circus work, and how not-to-plan everything went. The journey has been the hardest thing I've ever done, and as a professional street theatre and spectacle artist, the suicides of Ian Smith of Mischief La Bas, and Robin Williams shortly after in mid 2014, affected me very deeply. I was actually surprised at the positive tone at the end of the song, considering how brutally difficult everything has been since moving to Scotland in late 2012, but I think that positivity came from working with the guys, and from the quality of the work I was doing, and the confidence I gained from that - my first real creative work in music for nearly 20 years. More information about the full project is available on my website here:http://www.independentstateofhappiness.com/index.php/en/home/rap Information on my previous musical work is available here: http://www.independentstateofhappiness.com/index.php/en/awards-highlights

About the composer:

I am an Australian-born multi-arts practitioner, mostly working in Gaelic Outreach & Engagement via Contemporary Arts, such as Rap, Circus Skills, Graffiti Art & Street Theatre & Spectacle. I also do a lot of Storytelling, drawing from traditional Gaelic folkloric sources. An overview of recent work is available on my News page here http://www.independentstateofhappiness.com/index.php/en/news and information on my Scottish-Australian background is available here: http://www.independentstateofhappiness.com/index.php/en/contact-details/about-ariel