Fear a' Bhata
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Legend has it that this is a very traditional Gaelic song. It is a song of unrequited love for a young fisherman. There are many variations of the story relating to this song, but one version says that it was written at the end of the 18th century by Sìne NicFhionnlaigh from Tong, Isle of Lewis for Donald MacRae of Uig, Isle of Lewis. Further versions state that although this is a song full of despair, the couple ended up marrying a year after the song was penned. This performance is by Sineag MacIntyre, let’s listen to the whole song to get a feel for it.
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Let’s now start learning it, the chorus first.
| fond farewell |
| will go |
The first two lines are:
| Boatman na hò ro èile, Boatman na hò ro èile |
The chorus continues:
| Boatman na hò ro èile, A fond farewell wherever you go |
Let’s put the four lines of the chorus together:
| Boatman na hò ro èile, Boatman na hò ro èile, Boatman na hò ro èile, A fond farewell wherever you go |
Sing along to the chorus. Let’s now become familiar with the first verse. The key vocabulary follows:
| high |
| hill |
| showing |
The first two lines of this verse are:
| I often look from the highest hill', To try and see the boatman |
The second two lines continue:
| Will you come today or tomorrow? If you don't come at all I will be down-hearted |
Let’s put the four lines together to create the first verse.
| I often look from the highest hill, To try and see the boatman, Will you come today or tomorrow? If you don't come at all I will be down-hearted |
