Little by Little Beag air Bheag
Teann a-nall
Some of the most popular songs in Gaelic are love songs. Though there are lots of Gaelic songs which are tinged with sadness, there are many happy songs too. One of these is Teann a-nall, a favourite cèilidh song composed by Gilleasbaig MacDhòmhnaill, in which he invites his sweetheart to accompany him to Uist. This performance is by Sìneag MacIntyre. Why not listen to the complete song first to get a feel for the tune?
Like many Gaelic songs, this one has a good, simple chorus. Let’s learn some vocabulary first:
here
come
give
to me
hand
will give
trip
Uist
The first two lines of the chorus have the same words: only the tune alters:
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
The third line of the chorus is the same as the first two, the singer is imploring his sweetheart to go to Uist with him:
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Is bheir mi sgrìob do dh' Uibhist leat
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
And take a trip to Uist with me
Now that you are comfortable with the lines individually, let’s sing the chorus:
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Is bheir mi sgrìob do dh' Uibhist leat
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
And take a trip to Uist with me
We’ll now crack on with the first verse. Vocabulary first:
calm
weather
warm
west
rounded lump
ocean
mirror
mist
longing
sun
afternoon
gold
The first two lines of the verse describe the beautiful weather in Uist!
Tha 'm feasgar ciùin 's na siantan blàth,
Tha ghrian san iar mar mheall den òr
The evening's calm, the weather warm,
The western sun is an orb of gold
In the second part of the verse, he turns his attention to the sea and he repeats his longing to be in Uist with his sweetheart:
Tha 'n cuan mar sgàthan gorm gun sgleò,
'S bu mhòr mo mhiann bhith 'n dh' Uibhist leat
The sea is a mirror, clear and blue,
I long to be in Uist with you
Once you have mastered these lines separately, we can put them together to complete the whole verse:
Tha 'm feasgar ciùin 's na siantan blàth,
Tha ghrian san iar mar mheall den òr,
Tha 'n cuan mar sgàthan gorm gun sgleò,
'S bu mhòr mo mhiann bhith 'n dh' Uibhist leat
The evening's calm, the weather warm,
The western sun is an orb of gold,
The sea is a mirror, clear and blue,
I long to be in Uist with you
Teann a-nall - the second verse
In the second verse, the singer’s attention turns away from the sea and sky and to the landscapes of Uist:
mountain
moor
scent
fragrant
daisies
pretty
peace
Let’s start with the first two lines of this verse:
Tha sìth air aghaidh beinn is raon,
Tha fàileadh cùbhraidh thar am fhraoich
There's peace across the mountains and moors,
And fragrant scent across the heather
The verse continues:
Tha neòinean bhòidheach fàs gach taobh,
'S bu mhòr mo mhiann bhith 'n Uibhist leat
Beautiful daisies grow everywhere,
I long to be in Uist with you
We can now put the four lines of the verse together:
Tha sìth air aghaidh beinn is raon,
Tha fàileadh cùbhraidh thar an fhraoich,
Tha neòinean bhòidheach fàs gach taobh,
'S bu mhòr mo mhiann bhith 'n Uibhist leat
There's peace across the mountain and moor,
And fragrant scent across the heather,
Beautiful daisies grow everywhere,
I long to be in Uist with you
Teann a-nall - Let's sing!
Now you have learnt the whole song. Let’s put the chorus and the three verses together:
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Is bheir mi sgrìob do dh' Uibhist leat
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
And take a trip to Uist with me
Tha 'm feasgar ciùin 's na siantan blàth,
Tha ghrian san iar mar mheall den òr,
Tha 'n cuan mar sgàthan gorm gun sgleò,
'S bu mhòr mo mhiann bhith 'n dh' Uibhist leat
The evening's calm, the weather warm,
The western sun is an orb of gold,
The sea is a mirror, clear and blue,
I long to be in Uist with you
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Is bheir mi sgrìob do dh' Uibhist leat
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
And take a trip to Uist with me
Tha sìth air aghaidh beinn is raon,
Tha fàileadh cùbhraidh thar am fhraoich,
Tha neòinean bhòidheach fàs gach taobh,
'S bu mhòr mo mhiann bhith 'n Uibhist leat
There's peace across the mountains and moors,
And fragrant scent across the heather,
Beautiful daisies grow everywhere,
I long to be in Uist with you
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Teann a-nall 's thoir dhomh do làmh,
Is bheir mi sgrìob do dh' Uibhist leat
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
Come, let's wander hand in hand,
And take a trip to Uist with me