Scottish Gaelic songs (Òrain Gàidhlig)

Songs in Scottish Gaelic can be arranged into two main categories - rhythmic songs, such as waulking songs and puirt-à-beul (mouth music), in which the tune is more important than the words; and songs in which the words are more important. The tunes of songs of the latter type can change from one verse to the next to fit the words.

Waulking songs (Òrain luaidh)

Waulking songs are traditionally sung by women while waulking or fulling cloth, which involves a group of people beating newly woven tweed rhythmically against a table or similar surface to soften it. Often one of the women would sing the verses and the others would sing the chorus, which is often made up of vocables (nonsense syllables).

Waulking songs were probably last used for waulking cloth in the 1950s. They are also sung in Nova Scotia by women and men, and are known as milling songs.

Ceud soiridh soiridh bhuam (A hundred greetings from me)
Gaol ise gaol i (My love is she)
Haoidh o
'S truagh 's sinn 'gad threigsinn (It's a shame that we're leaving)
Mor rùn air na maraichean (My regard is for the sailors)

Mouth music (Puirt-à-beul)

This type of song is intended mainly for dancing to, and the rhythm is more important than the words, which are often nonsense or meaningless. They are also a way to sing fiddle tunes, especially in Cape Breton, where knowing the words are an inseperable part of learning such tunes.

It's common to sing three or more of these songs in succession, sometimes getting faster and faster with each one.

Amadan gòrach gòrach / Tha Fionnlagh ag innearadh / Chuirinn air a' phìob e
(Silly silly fool / Finlay is spreading manure / I would put it on the pipes)
An tèid thu bhuain mhaoraich (Will you go and gather mussels)
Crodh-laoigh nam bodach (The old man's calving cows)
Dhiùlt am bodach fodar dhomh (The old man refused me some straw)
Far am bi mi fhìn (Where I will be)
Gille Calum
Thoir a nall Ailean 'ugam (Bring Alan over)

Love songs (Òrain gaoil)

Ailein Duinn (Brown-haired Alan)
A phiùthrag 's a phiuthar (Little sister, sister)
Bheir mi o
Dheanainn Sùgradh (The Dark-haired Girl)
Fear A Bhàta (The Boat Man)
Gur milis Mòrag (Morag is sweet)
Hi horo 's na horo eile
Mo rùn geal dìleas (My fair and faithful love)
Toirt m' aghaidh ri Diùra (Setting my path towards Jura)
Thug mi gaol don fhear bhàn (I gave my love to the fair one)

Lullabys (Talaidhean)

An cluinn thu, Iain? (Do you hear, Iain?)
Bà i ù o hò
Clann Ulaidh (The Children of Ulster / Clan MacCulloch)

Laments (Tuiridhean)

Chaidh mo Dhonnachadh dhan bheinn (My Duncan went to the hill)
Tuireadh Iain Ruiadh (Lament for John Roy)

Other songs

Cànan nan Gàidheal (The language of the Gaels)
Chì mi na mòr-bheanna (The Mist Covered Mountains)
Chuir iad mise dh'eilean leam fhìn (They sent me to an island by myself)
Chrò Chinn t-Sàile (The Cattle Fold at Kintail)
Eilean Fraoich (Island of the heather)
Leis an Lurgainn (With the Lurgainn)
O teannaibh dlùth 'us togaibh fonn (O sit closer and let us sing a song)
Thig am bata / A bhean eudaich (The boat will come / The jealous woman)