(Source: Irish Page: Róisín Dubh)
| A Róisín ná bíodh brón or fár éirigh dhuit--
Little Rose, be not sad for all that hath behapped thee:
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| Tá na bráithre ag dul ar sáile is iad ag triall ar muir,
The friars are coming across the sea, they march o the main.
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| Tiocfaigh do phardún óa bPápa is ón Róimh anoir
From the Pope shall come thy pardon, and from Rome, from the East-
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| Is ní spáráilfear fíon Spáinneach ar mo Róisín Dubh.
And stint not Spanish wine to my Little Dark Rose.
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| Is fada an réim a lig mé lé ó inné do dtí inniu,
Long the journey that I made with her from yesterday till today,
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| Trasna sléibhte go ndeachas léi is mo sheólta ar muir;
Over mountains did I go with her, under the sails upon the sea,
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| An Éirne scoithe sí léim í cé gur mór a sruth;
The Erne I passed by leaping, though wide the flood,
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| is mar cheóil téad ar gach taobh di a bhíonn mo Róisín Dubh.
And there was string music on each side of me and my Little Dark Rose!
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| Mhearaigh túfain a bhradóg, is nár ba fearrde dhuit,
Thou hast slain me, O my bride, and may it serve thee no whit,
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| 'S go bhfuil m'anam istigh i ngean ort is ní inné ná inniu.
For the soul within me loveth thee, not since yesterday nor today,
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| D'fhátúfain anbhann mé ngnés i gcruth;
Thou has left me weak and broken in mien and in shape,
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| ná feall orm is mé gnean ort, a Róisín Dubh.
Betray me not who love thee, my Little Dark Rose!
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| Shiúfainn féin an drúcht leat is fásaigh goirt
I would walk the dew with thee and the meadowy wastes,
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| Mar shúil go bhfaighinn rún nó páirt ded thoil;
In hope of getting love from thee, or part of my will,
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| A chraoibhín chumhra, gheallais damhsa go raibh grá gat dom,
Fragrant branch, thou didst promise me that thou hadst for me love-
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| Is gurb ílúfainth na Mumhan íí Róisín Dubh.
And sure the flower of all Munster is Little Dark Rose!
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| Dá mbeadh seisreach agam threabhfainn in aghaidh na gcnoc
Had I a yoke of horses I would plough against the hills,
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| Is dhéanfainn soiscéal i lár an Aifrinn do mo Róisín Dubh;
In middle-Mass I'd make a gospel of my Little Dark Rose,
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| bhéarainn póg chailín bhéarfadh a hóighe dhom
I'd give a kiss to the young girl that would give her mouth to me,
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| is dhéanfainn cleas an leasa le mo Róisín Dubh.
And behind the liss would lie embracing my Little Dark Rose!
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| Beidh an Éirne 'na tuilte tréana is réabfar cnoic,
The Erne shall rise in rude torrents, hills shall be rent,
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| Beidh an fharraige 'na tonnta dearga is an spéir 'na fuil,
The sea shall roll in red waves, and blood be poured out,
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| Beidh gach gleann sléibhe ar fud éireann is móinte ar crith,
Every mountain glen in Ireland, and the bogs shall quake
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| Lá éigin sula n-éagfaidh mo Róisín Dubh.
Some day ere shall perish my Little Dark Rose!
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Notes
Written in the 16th century, this is one of the best-known aisling songs. "Aisling" is the Irish word for "vision" or "dream," and refers to a poetic genre in which Ireland is metaphorically represented as a woman. The genre originated in the 17th and 18th centuries, when Ireland was under English control and songs about Ireland were forbidden by the English authorities.
(Source: Wikipedia)
It's certainly no coincidence that Sinéad named her daughter, born on March 10th, 1996, Brigidine Róisín Waters.
Éirne:
(In English, "River Erne.") A river in northwest Ireland flowing southeast to northwest and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Ballyshannon. (Courtesy of CruiseIreland.com.)
(Source: Wikipedia)
Mumhan:
The southwest province of Ireland, comprising Counties Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, and Waterford. Its largest city is Cork.
(Source: Wikipedia)
leasa:
I cannot find an appropriate definition of this word in either Irish or English. It seems to means a hill or tree. Pearse's English translation may simply be a transliteration of the Irish "leasa," with the added benefit that it rhymes with "kiss" in the same position in the previous line.
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