Mouth Music
/In The River Maiden, much we are first introduced to Sarah's chosen profession when she and her partner Amy are invited to give an example of mouth music or puirt a beul to a Gaelic singing workshop. I have gotten a number of questions about this style of music, so I thought I would do a post on the topic.
Here is how Dermot describes this kind of music.
“...Well, believe it or not, in Scotland, there isna always a fiddler or piper handy. So we ingenious Scots developed a style of singing that allows us to mimic the rhythms of those instruments. This style tends to be fast like a reel or a strathspey. It’s meant to give people somethin’ to dance to.””
To which Sarah adds.
“The lyrics in puirt à beul are really servants to the music and are meant to be more percussive than poetic,” Sarah said. “Unlike what you’ve been studying this week, these songs are strictly for fun, not usually for storytelling or lamenting. So some of the words might not make a lot of sense. They are loads of fun, though.”
She's absolutely right. They are loads of fun to sing. If you enjoy singing, I highly recommend giving it a try. Although, you might want to start with some other Gaelic songs first. The speed of these songs would be challenging in English, in Gaelic they take a lot of practice.
Of course, you don't have to take my fictional grad student's word for it. Wikipedia has a pretty accurate article on the matter.
“Usually, the genre involves a single performer singing lighthearted, often bawdy lyrics, although these are sometimes replaced with meaningless vocables.
In puirt a beul, the rhythm and sound of the song often have more importance than the depth or even sense of the lyrics. Puirt a beul in this way resembles other song forms like scat singing. Normally, puirt are sung to a 4/4 or 6/8 beat. ”
I won't subject you to my own puirt a beul efforts here. Although if you happen to meet me and feed me enough whisky I might be convinced to provide a live example. For now, you can click play on one of my favorite songs below to hear this kind of music in action. This one is from Mary Jane Lamond, a Gaelic singer/musician from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Here is a snippet of the lyrics in Gaelic.
“Ciamar a nì mi ‘n dannsa dìreach
Ciamar a nì mi ‘n ruidhle bòidheach
Ciamar a nì mi ‘n dannsa dìreach
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìn’ ás bonn mo chòta
Ciamar a nì mi ‘n dannsa dìreach
Ciamar a nì mi ‘n ruidhle bòidheach
Ciamar a nì mi ‘n dannsa dìreach
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìn’ ás bonn mo chòta
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìn’ a chuir air chlì mi
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìn’ ás bonn mo chòta
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìne a chuir air chlì m
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìn’ ás bonn mo chòta
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìn’ a chuir air chlì mi
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìn’ ás bonn mo chòta
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìne a chuir air chlì mi
Dh’fhalbh a’ phrìn’ ás bonn mo chòta”
And here's the translation. You can find the whole song and translation here.
“How can I make a tidy dance
How can I dance a bonny reel
How can I make a tidy dance
The pin went from the hem of my coat
How can I make a tidy dance
How can I dance a bonny reel
How can I make a tidy dance
The pin went from the hem of my coat
The pin went and that put me astray
The pin went from the hem of my coat
The pin went and that put me astray
The pin went from the hem of my coat
The pin went and that put me astray
The pin went from the hem of my coat
The pin went and that put me astray
The pin went from the hem of my coat”
This is a perfect example of what the Wikipedia article was talking about. The lyrics seem inconsequential (unless you write fiction in which case they're a smashing writing prompt, but that's for another time). The key is the rhythm, and that comes with the repetitive and percussive 'ch' and 't' sounds at the end of each line. Juxtaposed with the rise and fall of the 'i' and softening 'a' sounds it makes a nice dance-able tune.
I'll leave you with another fine example of three songs from Uist sung by the very talented Julie Fowlis.
