Irish colouring
Posted by Lotg on September 22, 2004
In Reply to: Henry the Human Fly posted by Henry on September 21, 2004
: : : : : : : : : : there is one of a number of wonderful phrases in the Riverdance song "Lift the Wings"
: : : : : : : : : : "Lift the wings,
: : : : : : : : : : that carry me away from here and,
: : : : : : : : : : Fill the sail,
: : : : : : : : : : That breaks the line to home.
: : : : : : : : : : But when I'm milies and miles apart from you,
: : : : : : : : : : I'm beside you when I think of you, a Storin, a Gra."
: : : : : : : : : : The phrase 'breaks the line to home' is unusual Is it a typical Irish or English term?
: : : : : : : : : I have never heard it. It might be a sailing term rather than specifically English or Irish. (I can do the Gaelic, though!)
: : : : : : : : : DFG
: : : : : : : : Dia dhuit, DFG. In the context of Riverdance, 'breaks the line to home' refers to the various Irish diasporas when people had to leave Ireland for a better life in other parts of the world. Many lost contact with their families and loves they left behind at home.
: : : : : : : : 'A stóirín' (storeen) = 'my little treasure'
: : : : : : : : 'A grá' (graw) = 'my love'
: : : : : : : : And who said the French are the most romantic people? They're only just trotting after us Irish!
: : : : : : : :
: : : : : : : :
: : : : : : : Many thanks to both of you!
: : : : : : I totally agree with you Shae. Irish songs can break your heart completely, lift your spirits sky high - there is so much romance and emotion in Irish poetry and music. In fact the accent accentuates that (ooh, sorry about that sentence). A lilting Irish accent telling a tale - oh yeah, sorry to all you French guys out there, but I have to agree I reckon the Irish win the romance award hands down.
: : : : : it is true that the Celtic accents are gentler on the ear than many others: studies for call-centres
: : : : : repeatedly find that people like the sound.
: : : : : that's probably why I like the songs of Marie Brennan and Clannad with barely a Gaelic word in my vocabulary.
: : : :
: : : : being a guy, I must say that the accent of an Irish lass is one of the most lovely sounds in the world.
: : : I wouldn't want to bet against you also liking red-heads either...
: : : One of my most gorgeous girlfriends was the red-head daughter of an Irishwoman [sigh].
: : : "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" anybody?
: : Lewis --- I believe that you and I have led interesting lives. Hope it continues for both of us!
: Yes, Lewis. Richard Thompson!
While I acknowledge the fantasy angle (and I can still hear Lewis sighing from here), isn't the whole 'redheaded' Irish image a bit of a fallacy? Isn't the true 'supposedly traditional' colouring, jet black hair, pale skin and errr... green eyes (just wasn't sure for a minute whether green or blue, but I'm pretty sure green) - which frankly sounds pretty stunning to me.
Oh and Ward, you're right of course, works the other way around too. A man with an Irish accent - hmmmmmm.....
- Irish colouring David FG 23/September/04
- Raven-tressed colleens Lewis 23/September/04
- Colour me Irish. Smokey Stover 24/September/04