'Siúil a Rúin': the Ukrainian version of a beautiful Irish ballad about love and war

@ElentirENG ES 4·26·2022 · 3:12 0

Wars often leave behind beautiful songs that talk about the fight, but also about loved ones who have gone to the front lines or are waiting at home.

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Of all the songs I know with this theme, one of the most beautiful is "Siúil a Rúin" (Come oh love), a traditional Irish song of unknown origin, and it is estimated that it may have been composed in the 18th century. It has the chorus and the final lines of the verses in Irish Gaelic, and the rest in English. The song gives voice to an Irish woman who yearns for the return of her lover, who has gone to war. The first version I heard of this song, and the one I like the most, was recorded by the New Zealand Celtic music group Lothlórien and appeared on their album "Greenwood Side" in 2000:

Yesterday, the Ukrainian singer Eileen, who I already told you about here on March 21, published a Ukrainian version of that Irish song. It has pleasantly surprised me, because it is a song that I have liked for many years and that I have heard many times:

In the description of the video, the Ukrainian singer comments: "I've adapted the lyrics of the beautiful Irish folk song “Siúil a Rún” to describe the feeling of a Ukrainian woman whose beloved man is going to war. This is something that Ukrainians have to go through right now because of a cruel Russian invasion that broke into our homes. With this song, I want to thank all people who are now fighting for the freedom of Ukraine! We love you and wait for you to come back home alive!"

These are the lyrics of the Ukrainian version of the song:

Приспів:
Йди, йди, коханий мій
Йди незламно в переможний бій
Йди і знай, що тут чекатиму я
Бережи себе, любове моя.

Я стала б десь на вишині
Там виплакала б сльози всі
Щоб загасили міста в вогні
Бережи себе, любове моя.

Приспів

Я продам голки, я продам нитки
Продам всі вишиті сорочки
Щоб мав коханий з чим у бій іти
Бережи себе, любове моя.

Приспів

Жовто-синю стрічку в коси я вплету
Як милий не прийде, по світу піду
І де б не був, я його знайду
Бережи себе, любове моя.

This is the English translation:

"Chorus:
Go, go, go, my love
go unswerving to the victorious battle,
go and knows that I am waiting here.
Take care my love.

I'd be somewhere high up
everyone would cry there,
to extinguish burning cities.
Take care my love.

Chorus

I'll sell the needles, I'll sell the threads,
I will sell all the embroidered shirts,
so that my beloved has something to fight with.
Take care my love.

Chorus

I will weave a yellow and blue ribbon into braids.
If my love does not come, I will go around the world.
And wherever he is, I will find him.
Take care my love."

In case you want to know it, these are the original lyrics of the Irish song “Siúil a Rúin” in Irish Gaelic and English:

"I would I were on yonder hill,
It's there I'd sit and cry my fill
And every tear would turn a mill.
Is go dté tú mo mhuirnín slán.

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 tú mo mhuirnín slán.

Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin,
Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom.
Is go dté tú mo mhuirnín slán.

I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red,
and around the world I'll beg my bread,
Until my parents should wish me dead.
Is go dté tú mo mhuirnín slán

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 tú mo mhuirnín slán

And now my love has gone to France
to try his fortune to advance
If he e'er comes back 'tis but a chance
Is go dté tú mo mhuirnín slán.

Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin
Siúil go sochair agus siúil go ciúin,
Siúil go doras agus ealaigh liom.
Is go dté tú mo mhuirnín slán."

And this is the lyrics of "Siúil a Rúin" all in English:

"I would I were on yonder hill,
It's there I'd sit and cry my fill
And every tear would turn a mill.
And may you, my dear, be safe.

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.
And may you, my dear, be safe.

Come, come, come, oh love
come quickly to me, move gently,
Come to the door and we'll run away.
And may you, my dear, be safe.

I'll dye my petticoats, I'll dye them red,
and around the world I'll beg my bread,
Until my parents should wish me dead.
And may you, my dear, be safe.

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain,
I wish I had my heart again,
And vainly think I'd not complain.
And may you, my dear, be safe.

And now my love has gone to France
to try his fortune to advance
If he e'er comes back 'tis but a chance
And may you, my dear, be safe.

Come, come, come, oh love
come quickly to me, move gently,
Come to the door and we'll run away.
And may you, my dear, be safe."