This path was created by Maren Connell.
Carrickfergus
(And yes, there is similarity in the English version to another English folk song, “The Water is Wide” that is not at all in the original Irish)I wish I was in Carrickfergus
Only for nights in Ballygrand
I would swim over the deepest ocean
The deepest ocean for my love to find
But the sea is wide and I cannot swim over
Neither have I wings to fly
If I could find me a handsome boatsman
To ferry me over to my love and die
My childhood days bring back sad reflections
Of happy times spent so long ago
My childhood friends and my own relations
Have all passed on now like melting snow
But I'll spend my days in endless roaming
Soft is the grass, my bed is free
Ah, to be back now in Carrickfergus
On that long road down to the sea
I'll spend my days in endless roaming
Soft is the grass, my bed is free
But I am sick now, and my days are numbered
Come all you young men and lay me down
However, it started out as a completely different song called “Do bhí bean uasal” Or “There Was a Noblewoman” There’s no really good English translation of the lyrics, but it’s essentially about a man loving a woman from County Clare, wanting to marry her on St. Michael’s day, and then leaving her because she has two daughters. And then he’s injured and drunk and roving - typical love song fare. (I’m sorry this is terrible - It’s the best I could do with Google translate and a semester of beginner’s Irish)
But here is the first verse of the Irish version:
And for comparison's sake, here is the first verse of the English version translated to Irish:Do bhí bean uasal seal dá lua liom,
's chuir sí suas díom fóraíl ghéar;
Do ghabhas lastuas di sna bailte móra
Ach go dtug sí svae léi os comhair an tsaoil.
They are completely different and mean completely different things. This type of song is sometimes called macaronic, meaning that it either is different in different languages, or alternates between two languages throughout the lyrics.Is mian liom go raibh mé i Carrickfergus
Ach amháin le haghaidh oiche i Ballygran
Ba mhaith liom ag snamh os cionn na farraige is doimhne
An farraige is doimhne le mo ghrá a aimsiú
“The Land of the Gael” has some macaronic elements in that it has a few Irish place names in it. In Star of the Sea, a central character, Pius Mulvey, gets his start as a singer/performer (which eventually leads him to writing a ballad of his own) by singing a macaronic song.
Works Cited
