"a mhic iarla nam bratach bàna," or, more briefly "bratach bàna," is a well-known waulking song, a semi-call and response song used to keep time while fulling cloth. as initially recorded by j.l. campbell it has 18 verses; the final 8 are normally the only ones performed. i wanted to try turning it into something singable in english, inspired by alastair mcdonald's versions (see below).

mhic iarla nam bratach bàna
son of the earl of the white banners
mhic iarla nam bratach bàna
mhic iarla nam bratach bàna
chunna' mi do long air sàile
i saw your ship upon the ocean

hi 'illean beag hó ill ó ro
hi 'illean beag hó ill ó ro
hi 'illean beag hó ill ó ro
hù hoireann ó hu ó éileadh

chunna' mi do long air sàile…
i saw your ship upon the ocean
bha stiùir òir oirr' 's dà chrann airgid…
she had a golden helm* and two silver masts
's cupaill de shìoda na gaillmhinn…
[alt.: 's cupla dha'n t-sìoda na gaillmhinn]
and rigging** of galway silk
sìoda reamhar ruadh na spàinne…
rich red spanish silk
cha b'ann à glaschu a bha e…
it wasn't from glasgow that it was***
no 'n dùn-bheagain 's beag o'n làr e…
nor low-lying dunvegan
no 'n dùn-tuilm nam bratach bàna
nor white-bannered duntulm

*stiùir can mean 'helm' or 'rudder'.
**cupaill/cupla: (as cupuill, cuplaichean) given in dwelly's illustrated gaelic dictionary as 'shrouds' (i.e., standing rigging); the more usual word seems to be fàradh or àradh.
***i'm following campbell and macilledhuibh, who give "cha b'ann à glaschu" rather than the more commonly reproduced "cha b'ann an glaschu," as i think it makes more sense for a ship to be 'from' rather than 'in' a city. a lot of translations give this line as 'it was not in glasgow that it was seen,' but i feel like we're a bit too far away from 'chunna' for that, and it also doesn't make as much sense. is it meant to be something closer to 'its like was never seen in…'?

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