Capercaille gives us a lament sung in Gaelic called Soraidh Bhuam gu Barraidh. The song, which is sung by someone who presumably was shipped off to Australia, looks back longingly on an island called Barra.
Barra is the most beautiful island
The island of my heart's desire
When I often sang in the company
Of serene and beautiful young ladies
And although I'm alone today
In Australia of the trees
I'll never forget the Gaelic language
Which is engraved on my mind
Capercaillie is a Scottish folk band formed in the 1980s. They are named after the Scottish wood grouse. They perform traditional Gaelic songs along with songs in English of their own composition or by others, and often mix traditional songs with modern recording techniques, rhythms and instrumentation. At first sticking fairly closely to traditional styles and instrumentation, in the 1980s they added funk bass lines, synthesizers and electric guitar to traditional songs. In 1992, their EP A Prince Among Islands was the first Gaelic language record to reach the top 40 of the UK singles charts They have since been moving back toward more traditional music while retaining a slight fusion sound. Soraidh Bhuam gu Barraidh can be found on their 1987 album Crosswinds, and on their 2007 album Heritage Songs.
Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.
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