Clannad..An Clann As Dobhar..

The very name meaning "the family" , the music of this band evokes ancient memories of an Ireland gone hence into the mists..A land that time forgot, yet will never allow us to forget..The Emerald Isle..A place where druids once dwelt, and magick was the bloodstream of the Universe..Allow me to expand your minds musically with an energy so ancient, yet so alive, that it causes the heart to beat past the breaking point, and makes your breath come faster, and the blood flow like a raging torrent within you..

Now that I have your attention, let us begin...

This month, I wish to introduce you to an ancient language - Irish gaelic, one of 3 kinds of gaelic used throughout the UK at one point..Scottish and Irish gaelic are still widely used today..Manx gaelic has completely died out with the last native speaker of that ancient language dying back in 1974..There was another form as well known as breton, but this too is gone..In this review, I will be introducing you to Irish gaelic..note the effect it has on you when you listen to the songs being sung..Let us begin with the first song on the agenda - "Na Laethe Bhí¢®.

When I played this song, and I play it often, as I own the album, it caused me to feel that this song was written perhaps about the medieval period, when men truly were men and were out protecting their country and their women and children and old folk, from those who would have ravaged our shores..It evokes images of the killer queen Boadicea and her daughters who were raped and killed by marauding saxons, hell bent on taking what didn't belong to them..But this song also tells of the great love of one's country..I would like to share with you some of the lyrics and also provide a translation of them so you will also be able to feel the same..When you listen to this song, IF you listen to it, which I more than highly recommend experiencing for yourselves, close your eyes and just take it in.. Let it fill you up..Music has energy too, and as such, this will stimulate that energy around you..Feel it as it slowly crawls up your spine like icy fingers and washes over you with waves of brightness and beauty..

"Do chomhrᠳ’ do chairdeas
(Your protection and your friendship)
Ba mhian liom I gcona튨Were always desired)
‘s or󠧲ᠭo chro튨and my heart's great love)
Sc顬ta is amhr㩮
(Stories and songs)
Go haosta le slé©¢hte
(Old as the mountains)
Cruaidh ‘s cr󧡠le haois
(Strong and brave with age)

Slá® le na laethe a bhí ³eal go haerach
(Goodbye to the days that were, turning so lightheartedly)
Slᮠle na laethe a bh튨Goodbye to the days that were)
Slá® leis an oí£¨e
(Goodbye to the night)
A casadh orainn do’n ch顤 uair
(Turning on the first hour)
Slá® le na laethe bhí¢®.
(Goodbye to the days that were...)

What times those must have been..I can almost see it clearly before me..One thing that can be said for the music of Clannad, it's not just spiritual and uplifting, its a visual aid..Their music is a gift from those who came before..Almost you can envision the sky at sunset, with a breeze blowing..Maybe even a hint of ice on the wind which tells of the impending winter that will soon come..The visuals that this song evokes are amazing..One almost hears the men clad in armour, riding out on war steeds while the ravens of Cathubodva circle the field..One can envision the bard sitting in the center of a huge table, with his harp, resplendent and bedecked with ribbons to make it fair, while he hypnotises the company with the cascading notes that fall like droplets from his harp, caressing the strings and weaving old magicks..It was said of Oí³­n, when he played his harp, that the Giants danced in a circle, and when they were done, he trurned them into the Ringstones standing out on Salisbury Plain..When he played, it was said that the trees dropped their leaves in mourning..Well..As I said..Times long since gone and hence into the mists of time..

Moving along as we are bound to do, I have chosen a song that is mostly in english, but has some degree of the gaelic in it..It is called "Síµ­l a rò®¢ (come my love)..Listening to this song, I got a very clear picture of a young woman who is in love with a man who seems not to be able to stay put in one place for any length of time..

"I wish I was on yonder hill
'Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill
Until every tear would turn a mill
Is go dté ´ò ­¯ mhò©²®í® slᮊ


Curfᦧt;

Si򩬬 si򩬮 si򩬠a r򩮊(Come, come, come, O love)
Si򩬠go sochair agus si򩬠go ci򩮊(Quickly come to me, softly move)
Si򩬠go doras agus 顬aigh liom
(Come to the door, and away we'll flee)
Is go dté ´ò ­¯ mhò©²®í® slᮊ(And safe for aye may my darling be.)"

To me, she seems distraught because he has chosen to leave again..She spends time alone, crying her eyes out for him..This seems not new to me.. It is and ever has been such with women and men throughout the centuries..In the chorus, it is plain that she would wish him to come and collect her and steal off with her..

" I'll sell my rock, I'll sell my reel
I'll sell my only spinning wheel
To buy my love a sword of steel
Is go dté ´ò ­¯ mhò©²®í® slá® "

"I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red
And round the world I'll beg my bread
Until my parents shall wish me dead
Is go dté ´ò ­¯ mhò©²®í® slᮢ

"I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
I wish I had my heart again
And vainly think I'd not complain
Is go dté ´ò ­¯ mhò©²®í® slᮢ

"But now my love has gone to France
to try his fortune to advance
If he e'er comes back it's but a chance
Is go dté ´ò ­¯ mhò©²®í® slᮢ..

The chorus is in between each of these verses, but you can see how they tell the story - She would sell up all that she owned just to get him a sword, no doubt used for defense mechanisms in the day..I don't know the meaning of dyeing her clothing red, I was not able to find that out..But she makes it clear that she'd go around the world if only to be with him, and even beggar status would be fine..It might well be that this is indicative of becoming like the gypsies..This part about being gypsy-like is guesswork on my part..In the next verse, it becomes much clearer..It is difficult to love such a one..and in the end, he left anyway, and she knows there is a good chance she'll never see him again..Have a broken heart yet ladies? (sigh)

The next song I have chosen for you, is fully in english, and it's called "A bridge (that carries us over)".. Now, I know without a doubt there are SOME Clannad fans out here, so you know that this song is one that really raises the gooseflesh..At least, it does so on me..But this song really showed me the true meaning the other day when I had a chance to sit here and really dive deeper into the words, and the music.. Truly great music will paint a visual picture that defies words, but explains why the song was written, and the message it was trying to convey..Some will get it, some won't..

"Time came around, and I was in need
You came by my side, for my troubles to ease
You collected my heart, healing the past
You'll never lay down, I can count on you.."

This says to me, that one person may be depended upon to be there for you, despite all the players in the world, and we all know there are very many of those.. And the chorus..

"We all speak well of a bridge that carries us over
...over safe
The art of compromise has surely been our greatest strength
...our greatest strength.."

This says to me that no matter what, we can get over the pain which has been dealt to us..we just have to learn that though we cannot change certain things, we can let them go..we can cross that bridge and compromise with ourselves never to forget, but to let the pain go..Why go through life carrying the heavy burden someone else laid upon us if it is not needful for us to do so? But are we WILLING to let go of those burdens, or forever be weighted down by them? we CAN choose to drop them and be free from them..

"When someone pretends, to circle your friends
And find its betrayal before it all ends
A bittersweet chain, that'll always remain
So don't let illusions get the better of you"..

And this verse says to me, don't be fooled by false or plastic people, don't allow yourself to be fooled by the games others would play with your mind and your heart..We CAN be free..We have to learn how to see this when it happens, and to know for ourselves that we can choose NOT to be put through it, and we can choose not to carry the burdens other people place on us..For some of us, this lesson is very hard, and it's even harder to drop the burden and walk free..We have had the message pounded home that this is what we deserve, so we become resigned to thinking we deserve this, and so we carry the burden..We allow depression and apathy to rule over us, instead of joy and happiness..Love becomes only a distant dream, but never a real possibility..

Ok, I think we need something a little more uplifting now.. So I have chosen "Caide sin do'n te' sin" ( What is that to anyone else) for the next song.. This song basically tells a tale of someone who does things by their own measures and what makes them happy, and if it doesn't please anyone else, oh well..They are living for themselves and no one else, and therefore must make themselves happy..So I will give examples of what I mean now..

"Chuaigh me chun aonaigh is dhiol me mo bho
(I went to the fair and sold my cow)
Ar chuig phunta airgid is ar ghini bhui oir
(For five pounds of silver and a yellow guinea of gold)
Ma olaim an t-airgead is ma bhronnaim an t-or
(If I drink the silver and if I give away the gold)

O caide sin do'n te sin nach mbaineann sin do
(O what is that to anyone else.)
Ma olaim an t-airgead is ma bhronnaim an t-or
(If I drink the silver and if I give away the gold)
O caide sin do'n te sin nach mbaineann sin do"
(O what is that to anyone else.)

"Ma theim na choille chraobhaigh cruinniu smeara no cno
(If I go to the leafy woods gathering berries or chestnuts)
A bhaint ullai de gheaga no a bhuachailleacht bo
(Plucking apples from branches or herding cows)
Ma shinim seal uaire faoi chrann a deanamh so
(If I stretch out for a while beneath a tree relaxing)

O caide sin do'n te sin nach mbaineann sin do
(O what is that to anyone else)
Ma shinim seal uaire faoi chrann a dheanamn so
(If I stretch out for a while beneath a tree relaxing)
O caide sin do'n te sin nach mbaineann sin do"
(O what is that to anyone else)..

I think it becomes apparent what is being said here, and it goes with what I said in the previous song, that we can be free and live and enjoy the pleasures of life rather than being bogged down by the burdens of it.. Here, Maire paints a picture of all the beauty of life, being lived simply..This song is awash with light and color, rather than being made starkly black and white..

Now I have one final song to share with you all..And this one, though it is in gaelic, speaks for the now..This song is a fervent prayer, one might say, to God, or the king of the world - "Ri na cruinne"..And while I will of course provide the translation, I don't feel too much will need to be said about the message this song has so blatantly within it..

"Ri na cruinne
(King of the world)
Ta na daoine ag milleadh
(folk are destroying)
An chine daonna
(the human race)
Nil muid curamach go leor
([because] we don't care enough)

Ri na cruinne
(King of the world)
Ta'n dulra scriosadh
(nature is being destroyed)
O bhliain go bliain
(from year to year)
Nil muid faichilleach go leor
([because] we're not aware enough)

Muscail ar misneadh
(let's rouse our courage)
Frid an domhain mhor"..
(through the wide world)..

I think this song is giving a concious message about the damage we do yearly to Gaia..We break down and pollute the very breast of the Mother who gives to us so that we have continued survival..But eventually, as it says in this song, that will no longer be possible..Over religions, we are killing one another..Because of big corporations, we are depleting the rainforests, which also provide for the air we breathe..When we can plainly see the seasons as having changed drastically in the last 1000 years, and that we have caused this, how can we NOT be aware of the damage we are doing, and have done? And I believe this prayer is saying "make a conscious effort"..

That's all for this month :o) One hopes that you all have enjoyed the music of Clannad ( An Clann As Dobhar ), and that you do and will continue to enjoy these reviews, as I explore the diversity of music in many ways..One hopes that you have found the information contained within this review to be insightful, and interesting, and that it has touched places in the heart, that few things can get to..Of course I wish you all to experience the magick of Clannad for yourselves, that have never heard their music before, or very little of it to make an informed opinion of them, so please click the link which follows and I hope you enjoy the clips :o) Please note, you will need realplayer or windows media in order to run the clips..Both of those can be downloaded for free..

There are many websites out there on Clannad, but this is one of the better ones I found, and it's where I found not only translations to the gaelic, but song lyrics and some additional information..Thanks to the folks who run this great site, and also for allowing us to make use of their images of Clannad here..We are grateful..

Unofficial Clannad site

Also, hats off and hails to Amazon.com without whom we would not be able to feature some excellent song clips of Clannad and other bands featured in the reviews here :o) Here are 3 different Clannad albums to check out of the many they currently have out there, and each features song clips to indulge yourself in..

Anam

Banba

Lore

Until next time..Blessings to all..

Silver~

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