Cumha an Fhile (The Poet’s Loneliness)
A song made by Seán Bán MacGrianna (1905-1979) from Ranafast. He was a member of a gifted family of writers and poets and his songs are still in great demand locally. We sang this song with our late brother, Mícheál, and Dáithí Sproule in the group Skara Brae. This is our first time recording it. It’s unashamedly sentimental and seems to mean even more with the passing of time.
Is cumhúil thíos fá bhruach na mara, is gruama an saol is mé liom fhéin,
Gan sólás croí gan comhrá carad a thógfadh an cian domh is a mhúchfadh an léan;
Go domhain san oíche is mór mo mhearadh – ag dúil go gcluinfinn ceol na n-éan
Ach mo bhrón níl ann ach tuaim an bharra agus uaigneas síoraí fá ghlinnte an aeir.
Níl ceiliúr cuach níl blátha geala ‘ theacht ag tsamhraidh ann mar a bhíodh,
D’imigh an smaolach, d’imigh an eala is tháinig smoladh ar gach craobh;
Tá mo chairde gaoil go síor’ na gcodladh insa tseanbhaile faraor,
Is mise fágtha fuar fann folamh mar each gan srian ag treabhadh an tsaoil.
Ní fheicim bádaí ag goil an barra, ní fheicim daoine amuigh ag snámh,
Ní fheicim slóite Domhnach earraigh, thíos fán Bháinsigh mar ba ghnách;
D’imigh an sport as Tóin an Bhaile, d’éag an seandream a bhí sámh
Mo chumha ina ndiaidh, nach mór an chaill é iad a bheith scartha uainn mar atá.
Grá mo chroí na laetha fada ‘ chaith mé thíos fá bhruach na trá
Seal ag imirt le mo mhadadh, seal ag súgradh le mo ghrá:
Seal gan ghruaim fá bhruach an easa féachaint bradán ar an tsnámh
Is a Rí na nDúl nach trua nach mairfeadh saol na suáilce dúinn go brách.
It’s lonesome down by the edge of the sea, life is gloomy as I’m on my own,
With no solace for the heart, without chat with friends that would lift the sadness and banish the sorrow;
Late at night I am greatly confused – hoping to hear the song of the birds
But alas it’s only the noise of the tidal bar and eternal grief in the firmament of space.
There’s no song of the cuckoo, nor no bright flowers as there used to be when the summer comes
The thrush has left, the swan has left and every branch has withered;
My friends and relations are forever asleep in the old homeplace alas
And I’m left cold , feeble and empty like a horse without reins ploughing through life.
I no longer see boats going over the bar, nor do I see people out swimming
Nor crowds on spring Sundays down around the Báinseach as there used to be;
The fun has gone from Tóin an Bhaile, the older generation who were so easy going have passed on
I’m pining for them, isn’t it a great loss, they have departed from us as they have.
How I loved with all my heart the long days I spent down by the shore
A while fooling around with my dog and a while frolicking with my love
A while spent without gloom at the side of the waterfall watching salmon as they swam
Oh king of the elements it’s a pity such a life of joy could not last forever for us.