Irish Translation Forum

When I searched the translation for the chorus part of “Siuil a run,” I found several different ones. One interpretation is to ask your lover to come back to me, and the other is to ask your lover to go away (with me).
I’d like to know the ground for each interpretation.
For example, the third line “Siuil go doras agus ealaigh lion” is translated as “Walk to the door, and away we'll flee.” In this interpretation, this means that the lover is now in the room with me, and asking him to go away with me, I guess. Is it correct? (As a matter of fact, I am Japanese, and I’m not so much sure about the meaning of English words themselves…)
What is the literal translation for “Siuil go doras” and “ealaigh lion”? I checked online dictionary, but couldn’t find “lion.”
About the fourth line (Is go dte tu mo mhuirnin slan), is it correct to understand that “tu” is you?

It's liom. Liom means with me. Flee with me.

An_Sionnach_2 wrote:It's liom. Liom means with me. Flee with me.

I can second this.

And yes, "tú" is "you" (singular).

Redwolf

éalaigh can mean Escape or Elope (liom= with me)

Thank you so much for answers!
In Japan, most of the cases, they explain this song as a message of a lover to come back to her. But at least concerning to this part, it iseems that it is better to understand as a wish to escape with her.

kazuma wrote:Thank you so much for answers!
In Japan, most of the cases, they explain this song as a message of a lover to come back to her. But at least concerning to this part, it iseems that it is better to understand as a wish to escape with her.

It most likely is a blending of what was originally two different songs. The English verses tell of a woman who will do anything to follow and help her beloved, who has joined the army. In fact, there's a well-known version of this song in the U.S. called "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier." The chorus, however, is a call for the beloved to slip out of the house and elope (probably originally intended to be sung by a man).

It's not unusual, in the folk tradition, for different songs to get merged like this.

Redwolf

Thank you all, now the meaning of the verse is clearer for me.
I didn't know that "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" is the different version of this song. Does it mean that the melody of "Siuil a ruin" (or something similar) is sung with the lylics of "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier"?

I've heard of the case of "Scarborough Fair”

I'd like to ask about the pronunciation.

Is go dtí tú mo mhuirnín slán

Sissel and clanado sing this part
"Iss guh d(j)ay thoo avorneen slawn"

Why "mo" sounds "a"? And why "mhuir" sounds "vor"?

In the following page, it is written that
mh sounds "w" before broad vowel. Is this an excetption?
http://www.standingstones.com/gaelpron.html#Aspcons

kazuma wrote:Thank you all, now the meaning of the verse is clearer for me.
I didn't know that "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" is the different version of this song. Does it mean that the melody of "Siuil a ruin" (or something similar) is sung with the lylics of "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier"?

I've heard of the case of "Scarborough Fair”

I'd like to ask about the pronunciation.

Is go dtí tú mo mhuirnín slán

Sissel and clanado sing this part
"Iss guh d(j)ay thoo avorneen slawn"

Why "mo" sounds "a"? And why "mhuir" sounds "vor"?

In the following page, it is written that
mh sounds "w" before broad vowel. Is this an excetption?
http://www.standingstones.com/gaelpron.html#Aspcons

It should be spelled "is go dté tú a mhuirnín slán.

Clannad sings that line as "iss guh jay too uh WUR-neen slawn. " "Mh" in front of a broad vowel is pronounced as a "w" in most dialects. I believe people from Munster pronounce it as a "v," but I know for a fact that Clannad pronounces it as a "w."

Redwolf

kazuma wrote:Thank you all, now the meaning of the verse is clearer for me.
I didn't know that "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier" is the different version of this song. Does it mean that the melody of "Siuil a ruin" (or something similar) is sung with the lylics of "Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier"?

I've heard of the case of "Scarborough Fair”

I'd like to ask about the pronunciation.

Is go dtí tú mo mhuirnín slán

Sissel and clanado sing this part
"Iss guh d(j)ay thoo avorneen slawn"

Why "mo" sounds "a"? And why "mhuir" sounds "vor"?

In the following page, it is written that
mh sounds "w" before broad vowel. Is this an excetption?
http://www.standingstones.com/gaelpron.html#Aspcons

There are different versions of the song. I found out when I some years ago tried to find the text on the net.
In some versions it may say "a mhuirnín", in others "mo mhuirnín" (or "mavourneen" or a similar transscription, maybe). Other versions may have "Siúil, a ghrá" instead of "a rún".

(BTW, has Sissel performed that song too? I didn't know, but I'd love to hear that.)