Annotation:Mhairead Òg (A)

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MHAIREAD OG, A (Young Margaret). AKA and see "Oran An Amadain Bhoidheich" (Song of the Handsome Fool). Scottish, Air (3/4 time). G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AA. The Scots Gaelic words, which may have been the composition of Domhnall Donn (Brown Donald), relate a tale common in folklore of a young man who inadvertently kills his sweetheart while she is bathing, mistaking her for a duck. A similar story, notes Neil, is the basis for the ballet "Swan Lake." The lyric begins:

A Mhairead òg, 's tu rinn mo leon Young Margaret, you are the cause of my wound
Gur cailean bhòidheach lurach thu Beautiful, lovely girl
Gur guirme do sùil a' mhadainn chiùin Your eye is bluer in the calm morning
An dearc air chùl nan duilleagan Than the blueberry behind its leaves

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Neil (The Scots Fiddle), 1991; No. 154, p. 199.

Recorded sources:

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