Fear a bhata
Inspired by a story collected on the isle of Skye in Scotland by Margaret Faye Shaw. A man, traveling by boat across the water toward the island, saw an eggshell floating in the water and went to playfully splash it with his oar. His companion warned him to leave it in peace.
He did, and landing on Skye, met a cailleach who thanked him for not upsetting her boat.
Written in Gaelic as a plea from the cailleach, the lyrics beg the listener to move carefully through the water, as both singer and audience exist in a fragile environment... after all 's e uisgeachan ar bean-giulain - the sea is she who carries us.
Mòran taing to Christine Primrose for her help with editing and performance notes.
creative process + translation
Writing Fear a' Bhàta was such a growth process for me as a person and a songwriter. The main thing I've learned about Scottish traditional music through the HNC is that it's truly a tradition- it carries history itself. Studying the lyrics and rhythm and patterns has introduced me to information on nature and society throughout the centuries, as well as life skills, locations, and the philosophies and worldviews of this unique and diverse place known as the West Coast and the Hebrides. No wonder the community is so protective of their art... it's precious and deserves respect.
I began reading about Gaelic song as part of my research for an essay on Scottish traditional music as part of the HNC music program, and quickly became fascinated with the stories and harmonies behind it. Margaret Fay Shaw's adventure in From the Alleghenies to the Hebrides inspired me at a point in my studies when I was feeling really low and unsure of what I'd undertaken with the course as a whole.
"It was a life I loved," she said in the book. "I never thought about it as anthropological studies, just life among people I loved."
That really got to me- yes, I had come to study music and achieve an educational goal, but I'd chosen to study in Scotland to spend time in a culture I love and to learn what created this music that seems so magnetic to my ears.
I was reading Shaw's South Uist book at the time and came across the story of the cailleach and the boatman, and it caught my imagination. Here was a story that echoed my feelings- a traveller in a place I loved and enjoyed but didn't understand fully, hearing echoes of a plea to tread gently and with respect. My (sometimes overly) optimistic self sat down with a dictionary in the library one evening with no intention other than to see what I might be able to write as a way to memorialize the experience I was going through. A few hours later I had a few rough verses, and shyly showed them to a friend and Rachel Walker, my course leader.
"They're pretty good," she said, "but they don't make sense in Gaelic. You need to learn what you're actually saying."
Fast forward a couple months, through countless hours of listening to Gaelic conversation as well as a distance email conversation with Christine Primrose of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig who helped edit my attempt into direct language, and I found myself spending a week at SMO learning Gaelic song and pronunciation under Christine's instruction. The melody grew and shifted and changed a handful of times, the shape of the song changed, and most importantly, my understanding of what is Gaelic song morphed into something I couldn't possibly have pictured before moving here.
The accompaniment I've chosen (yes, I know, true Gaelic song is unaccompanied) is meant to echo some of the elements of traditional music and the environment surrounding me. I chose a focal point of solo vocals to honor the oral tradition of Gaelic song, with distant piano as a nod to Shaw's comment that piano could accompany Gaelic song's complex melodic and harmonic structure. The melody accompanying the verse is in the Aeolian mode, and the chorus/sèist in Ionian. The sèist accompaniment includes moving bass notes that I've learned in first study instrument of the accordion and piano accompaniment for live performance, and the whispers and oars are meant as a reminder to me that traditional music is as much a part of daily life here as meant for a microphone. I was suffering from laryngitis at the time of recording this, and decided to use my voice "as is" after just a few takes- one, to be kind to my body, and two, as a memory for the happy afternoons I've spent listening to Tobar an Dualchais and the very individual voices who shared their songs with me through the collectors.
I hope with all my heart that I've shown respect to the community that's shown me such a welcome. This is my tiny gift in return.
Translation
Boat man, with such sharp eyes - hear my urgent plea
Be wary of this place,
Take your time, what's the hurry...
Take your time, what's the hurry?
We have the same destination - hear my urgent plea
Be careful of this place,
Take your time, what's the hurry...
Take your time, what's the hurry?
Be gentle with the sea, the water is the woman who carries us
Have respect for this place!
Take your time, what's the hurry...
Take your time, what's the hurry?
Seist/Chorus
Your boat is only an egg-shell, your sail is just a tiny white feather
Be kind to this place, take your time
My boat is only an egg-shell, my sail is just a tiny white feather
Be kind to this place, what's the hurry?
Be careful with your oars, we travel this way together
Be careful of this place,
Take your time, what's the hurry,
Take your time, what's the hurry?
Too much haste blinds you, you're in twilight - between sleeping and waking,
Grow anxious about this place...
Take your time, what's the hurry?
Take your time, what's the hurry?
Seist/Chorus
Your boat is only an egg-shell, your sail is just a tiny white feather
Be kind to this place, take your time
My boat is only an egg-shell, my sail is just a tiny white feather
Be kind to this place, what's the hurry?
Coda
Boat man, with such sharp eyes - hear my urgent plea
Be wary of this place,
Take your time, what's the hurry...
Take your time, what's the hurry?
Lead Sheet
All rights Reserved
Fhir a bhàta led shùil gheur
Èisd rim ghuidhe
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo
Tha ur ceann-uidhe maraon
Èisd rim ghuidhe
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo
Leig leis a’ mhuir
‘S e uisgeachan ar bean-giùlain
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Thoir spèis dhan àit’ seo
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Thoir spèis dhan àit’ seo
sèist
’S e slige-ugh do bhàta
’S e ite gheal do sheòl
Bi bàidheil dhan àite
Air do shocair
’S e slige-ugh mo bhàta
’S e ite gheal mo sheòl
Bi bàidheil dhan àite
Dè do chabhaig?
Cùm smachd air na ràmhan
Tha sinn air an t-slighe seo còmhla
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo.
Cus cabhaig gad dhalladh
Tha thu eadar cadal ‘s dùsgadh
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo
sèist
’S e slige-ugh do bhàta
’S e ite gheal do sheòl
Bi bàidheil dhan àite
Air do shocair
’S e slige-ugh mo bhàta
’S e ite gheal mo sheòl
Bi bàidheil dhan àite
Dè do chabhaig?
Fhir a bhàta led shùil gheur
Èisd rim ghuidhe
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo
Air do shocair, Dè do chabhaig? Gabh cùram an àite seo