| Manx | English | |
|---|---|---|
| Doberan Chengey-Ny-Mayrey Ellan Vannin. | A Lament for the Mother Tongue of the Isle of Man | |
| Myr va mee my-lomarcan troaylt harrish Sniaul, | As I was alone travelling over Snaefell, | |
| Tra va’ yn coleayrtys y hayrn | When the twighlight was drawing | |
| E coamyrey harrish cheu Vannin jeh'n theihl, | Her clothing over the Manx side of the world, | |
| As Dooghys cur biallys da’n Chiarn. | And Nature obeying the Lord. | |
| Dy choodaghey ’n seihl lesh cloagey yn oie, | To cover the world with the cloak of night, | |
| As aaish y chur lesh gys sheelnaue | And to bring rest to mankind, | |
| Veih boiraghyn seihltagh as laboraght croie, | From worldly troubles and hard labour, | |
| As ooilley cretooryn E laue. | And all the creatures of His hand. | |
| Myr shoh va mee fagit dou hene er y clieau, | Like this I was left to myself on the mountain, | |
| Fegooish nhee dy heshiaght erbee, | Without any company at all, | |
| Dy gobberan harish dagh vooirey as strieu | To mourn over every worry and strife | |
| Ta seeaghney Mannin-my-chree; | That sorrows my beloved Mannin; | |
| Tra honnick me ben vough, ayns coamyrey glass, | When I saw a poor woman, in pale grey clothing, | |
| Cheet my-whail ny mastey yn freeagh, | Coming towards me amongst the heather, | |
| Lesh ooilley mygeayrt-y-moie[1] frytlagh as rass, | With all around her ragged and coming undone, | |
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[1] mygeayrt-y-moie—mygeayrt-y-mo’ee
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| As roie myr dy beagh ee er-keeagh ! | And running as if she were in a rage ! | |
| Va my chree er ny ghleayshaghey ayns my cheusthie, | My heart was moved inside me, | |
| Tra honnick mee stayd yn cretoor; | When I saw the state of the creature; | |
| Son ec y chied hylley jee honnick mee mie | For at the first sight of her I saw well | |
| Dy row ee er dhuttym[2] veih pooar. | That she had fallen from power. | |
|
[2] dhuttym—duittym
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| Tra haink ee ny sniassey[3] dou, cheayl mee ee gra | When she came closer to me, I heard her say- | |
|
[3] sniassey—sniessey
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| “Ogh, ogh! ta my heaghyn dy trome, | “Oh! oh! my sorrows are heavy, | |
| Myr shoh dy ve scarrt veih sheelnaue son dy braa, | To be separated like this from mankind forever, | |
| Gys duinid shenn Traa dy gholl roym.” | Unto the depths of ancient time that is before me.” | |
| Va yn ushag veg raiee[4] goll ro-ee gys yn crouw ; | The little red bird was going on her way to the bush ; | |
|
[4] raiee—ruy—reference to the traditional Manx lullaby ‘Ushag Veg Ruy’.
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| Va ny gheayin gys nyn moiraghyn roie; | The lambs were running to their mothers; | |
| Va yn oie er yn aarkey, lesh cochaslys grouw | The night was upon the ocean, with her gloomy look | |
| Dy gastey cheet veih yn niar-hwoaie; | Coming nimbly from the North-East; | |
| Va fainagh ny ghrainey er n’eiyrt harrish oirr | The chariot of the sun had been driven over the edge | |
| Ny farkaghyn dowin yn sheer-ass; | Of the deep ocean of the South-West; | |
| Va yn eayst ayns yn shiar er n’irree ayns gloyr; | The moon in the East had risen in glory; | |
| Va yn sheer ayns y coamyrey glass, | The West was in her pale grey clothing, | |
| Tra hoie shin sheese cooidjagh er lhuss glass ny feih[5], | When we sat down together on the green herb of the flat, | |
|
[5] ny feih—in Manx Ballads and Music A.
W. Moore gives ny faaie. Ny—‘of the’, faaie—‘flat; a field near or under a mansion house better manured than the other fields’ (Cregeen); a green, flat grass plot, paddock (Kelly, J.).
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| As dooyrt ee rhym, “Vanninagh, eaysht, | And she said to me, “Manxman, listen, | |
| Choud as nee’m dhyt, ass ny scriunyn shoh lhaih | Whilst I read to you from these letters | |
| My hrimshey, fo soilshey yn eayst. | Of my sadness, under the light of the moon. | |
| Eisht ren ee goaill toshiaght, as lhaih ee myr shoh :- | Then she began, and she read like this :- | |
| “Ayns laghyn ta er ny gholl shaghey, | “In days that have gone by, | |
| Cha row mee rieau laccal my choamyrey noa, | I was never lacking my new clothes, | |
| Dy reayl mee veih feiraght[6] as fliaghey. | To keep me from cold and rain. | |
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[6] feiraght—feayraght
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| Son mish, bee fys ayd er, ta Scaan yn chenn ghlare, | For I, you’ll know, am the Ghost of the old language, | |
| Ec cloan Vannin er ny hregeil; | Forsaken by the children of Mann; | |
| Agh s'beg fys ta ocsyn dy beeagh eh ny share | But little they know that it would be better | |
| Daue mish dy ve harroo dy reill. | For them for me to rule over them. | |
| Son mish ta er reayll yn fer joaree ersooyl | For it is I who has kept the foreigner away | |
| Son cheeadyn dy vleintyn dy hraa; | For hundreds of years of time; | |
| As va mee er reyll veih yn traie gys Barool, | And I had ruled from the shore to Barule, | |
| Da Manninee dooie son dy braa. | For true Manx people for ever. | |
| Agh nish ta yn voaryn oc er chur lesh yn Vaarle, | But now their pride has brought English, | |
| Eer seose yn glion mooar Tolt-y-Will, | Even up the great glen of Tholt-y-Whyl | |
| As mastey ny reastyn er lhaddag[7] wooar Cairdle, | And amongst the wastelands on the great side of Cardle, | |
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[7] lhaddag—lhiattee—‘side’ (topographic; eg ‘mountainside’). Kennish’s spelling here reflects Northern usage; Rhys mentions in regard to lhiattee~—'the North uses
[l´jađag]':’.
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| As creggyn yn Creg-Williee-Sill | And the rocks of the Creg-Willy-Syl | |
| Myr ta’n croaghan ’sy thourey yn maase cur er-rouyle, | As the horsefly in the summer infuriates the cattle, | |
| Ta’n voyrn er ny chur orroo roie | The pride has made them run | |
| Lesh y ghaih, veih kione heer yn Niarbyl gys Growdle, | With the sting, from the west end of Niarbyl to Groudle, | |
| As veih Colloo-nyn-neain[8] gys y Twoaie. | And from The Calf of the Chickens to the North. | |
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[8] Colloo nyn neain—seems to be Colloo-ny-n’ein—‘the Calloo of the chicks’, ‘Calloo’ being the name for the ‘Calf of Man’ which Cregeen mentions as formally being home to a large number of puffins.
Broderick, G. in ‘Placenames of the Isle of Man vol. VI’ says; ‘In Scottish Gaelic tradition the Calf is known as ‘an eireag Mhannainneach’; ‘the Manx pullet’ (pc. Morag MacLeod, School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh, 1974). To the south of the Calf of Man lies Chicken Rock, which Ned Beg Hom Ruy calls ‘yn Çhiggin Vooar’. If Colloo nyn neain does not refer to the Calf of Man, than perhaps it is an earlier name for Chicken Rock?
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| Dy-lhiattee veih raaidyn nyn ayraghyn dooie, | Aside from the ways of their native fathers, | |
| Nagh ren rieau myr shoh m’y hregeil: | That never deserted me like this: | |
| Son va’n aigney oc ro hickyr, nyn Ellan dy stroie, | For their minds were too firm, to destroy their Island, | |
| Dy chur ayns y joaree treishteil. | To put trust in the foreigner. | |
| Oh! dy jinnagh adsyn ta sthill er y cheu | Oh! That they who are still on the side of | |
| My Ellan veg, nish chaghlym cooidjagh, | My little Island, would now gather together, | |
| Dy chlo veih my hraieyn, lesh siyr yn toyrtmow, | To chase from my shores, with haste, the destruction, | |
| Ta mygeayrt y-moom nish er ’noaill toshiaght | That has now started around about me : | |
| As chyndaa nyn gleayshyn veih ooilley yn chiaul | And turn their ears from all the clamour | |
| Ta jeant mygeart Mannin veg veen, | That is made around dear little Man, | |
| Lesh deiney ta gys dy chooilley nhee doayl, | By men who are blind to everything, | |
| Er-lhimmey son berchys daue hene! | Except for wealth for themsleves! | |
| Agh quoi ta ad hene ta gheamagh myr shoh, | But who who are these who call like this, | |
| Agh adsyn ta laayl pooar dy reill | But those that want power to rule | |
| Harrish Manninee dooie, lesh lorgyn-reill noa, | Over true Manx people, with new sceptres, | |
| My yiow ad sleih daue dy chur geill | If they can get people to pay heed | |
| Oh! gow shiu my choyrle, shuish sthill ta er-mayrn, | Oh! Take my advice, you who are still left, | |
| Jeh cummaltee dooie Mannm voght; | Of the native inhabitants of poor Mann; | |
| As ny cur shiu geill da nyn raaidyn shenn vraane, | And pay no heed to ways of old women, | |
| Mygeayrt-y-mysh lhiggar as jough. | About liquor and ale. | |
| Oh! dy jinnagh cummaltee Vannin cordail | O! If the inhabitants of Mann were to agree | |
| Ny shen leighyn oc kellit dy reayl, | To keep their old hidden laws, | |
| As gyn sodjey nyn draa dy stroie ayns fardail, | And no longer waste their time in vain, | |
| Dy eayshtagh rish deiney gyn keeayl. | To listen to men with no sense. | |
| Agh son aym pene, nee’m cheleeragh goll roym | But for myself, I’ll go straight away on my way | |
| Dy ollagh mee hene ayns y joan :” | To hide myself in the dust:” | |
| - Dooyrt yn red trimshagh; lesh osney dy trome,- | - The sad thing said sadly; with a heavy sigh,- | |
| “Son jeeagh cre cha lheeah ta my chione.” | “For look how grey my head is.” | |
| Ballasalla, January, 1845. | Ballasalla, January, 1845. | |