Story Behind The Song

The night of Samhain belongs to neither summer nor winter; it is a time when the veil between the living world and the spirit world is thinner than ever, a time when spirits walk the earth and the mortals huddle around a single village bonfire, tossing tokens of their wishes into the flames and looking forward to a winter of feasting and nuts and apples and sweets.

Song Description

The song begins with an icy fairy-breath tempest, and dissolves into themes which seem at first menacing, later poignant, and finally celebratory as befits the harvest season. The themes are then repeated in a quickstep tempo, and segue into the traditional jigs "Swallowtail," "Morrison's" and "Kid On The Mountain."

Lyrics

1. Dean beithigh a shleachtadh is barra a bhaint
Na lig do na sioga ar bhfeasta a chreach.
Caith suil go dti amarach, caith paidir sa tine
Ag fanacht leis an bhliain nua ta chuile duine.

2. Aladh ar ulla, iad a ithe ansin
Go dtaga o hEmhain Abhlach do ghra dilis.
Cnonna agus milseain do na paisti anocht
An leanbh a bheirtear inniu, ni bheidh se bocht!

3. Lig do tine cnamh na Samhna eiri an-ard,
Go ndailtear athas ar gach duine a fheiceann!
Lig do tine cnamh na Samhna dul chun na speire,
Is i an Samhain an seasur le ceiliuradh!

(in English:)

1. Ga-ther the har-vest, slaugh-ter the beasts
Let no fairy-breath ta-ke aught of our feast.
Cast a prayer in the fi-re, seal it with your name
Every hearth in the land awaits Tlachtga's flame.

2. Ducking for apples, eat them when you're done
Toss away the peel to see your future loved one.
Nuts a-nd sweets for the chil-dren to-night,
And blesséd be the one born with se-cond sight!

3. Let the Sa-mhain bon-fire rise up hi-gh,
Spreading peace and joy to a-ll who see!
Let the Sa-mhain bon-fire rise to the sky,
Sa-mhain is the season of feli-ci-ty!

Playlist Creator	Playlist Name	Date Added
Banna Beag Mall	Celtic Tunes	8/18/2009
Banna Beag Mall	My Top Songs	8/18/2009