Sliabh Lúcra's Lament

[Intro] *(Fiddle and tin whistle intertwine over stomps and claps, uilleann pipes drone beneath)* [Verse 1] Ar bhruach na habhann, a stór mo chroí, (By the river’s edge, love of my heart,) An gealach ag snámh ar an lios. (The moon floats o’er the fairy fort.) Chuala mé do ghlór trí ghaoth, (I heard your voice through the wind,) ‘S tú ag caoineadh le fonn sa dorchadas. (Lilting a tune in the dark.) *(Pause – Harp ascends, claps shift rhythm)* [Verse 2] Thug tú póg don fharraige bháin, (You kissed the pale sea’s tide,) Ach d’imigh tú le sruth na ré. (But slipped with the stream of time.) Fágadh mé i lúb na gcrann, (Left me in the grove’s embrace,) Ag freagairt do bhéice gan suaimhneas. (Answering your cry with no trace.) [Chorus] Óró, a ghrá, téigh go síochánta, (Oh, my love, go gently,) Tarraing an fód is fásann do chroí. (Draw the sod where your heart grows.) Beidh na piobaí ag seinm ‘do thórramh, (The pipes will play your wake,) ‘S an fhidil le buaireadh ón spéir. (The fiddle grieves the sky.) *(Pause – Lilting voices layer, feet stomp in triplets)* [Verse 3] Bhris an ghrian trí scáth na gcuach, (Sun broke through the cuckoo’s shade,) Ach chuaigh tú i gcríocha sí. (But you crossed to the Otherside.) Tá mo chorp sa chladaigh ‘s mo spír ag rith, (My body on shore, my spirit races,) Le do dhúchas faoi bhrat na hoíche. (To your roots ‘neath night’s embraces.) [Bridge] *(Multiple singers hum in harmony, tin whistle trills)* Amhrán na marbh, a bhuaireann mé, (Song of the d**d, you haunt me,) Is cuimhin liom do chuid gáire. (I remember your laughter’s chime.) Fágfaidh mé mo dhúthracht leat, (I’ll leave my devotion here,) Go gcasfar arís sinn i gcéin. (Till we meet again in time.) [Chorus] Óró, a ghrá, téigh go síochánta, Tarraing an fód is fásann do chroí. Beidh na piobaí ag seinm ‘do thórramh, ‘S an fhidil le buaireadh ón spéir. [Outro] *(Harp fades, pipes drone, stomps soften like distant thunder)*