Music Monday: Is í an teanga mo ghrá.

(Pronounced: Iss ee un tyang-uh muh graw) The title (in Irish) means I love language, specifically the Irish language, also called Gaeilge (pronounced GWEIL-geh). I'm getting very into learning Irish (via Duolingo, best I can manage for now), and one of the easiest ways for me to remember things is singing them. Go figure.

Here's one of my favorite of the Chasing Abbey songs that have become my latest hyper fixation: Arís is Arís (Ah-reesh ish ah-reesh) which is an idiom meaning Again and Again. The words are on the screen so you don't need the automatic captions. I especially like it because it taught me the name for one of my novels, Darkness (Dorchadas). See? Language nerd.🤓Enjoy.

Music Monday: Familiar...Advice

Yesterday I played Dungeons and Dragons in a one off in between our regular group, Lorem Ipsum's sessions. As it turns out, the real big bad in D&D is scheduling when you are playing as an adult with jobs, side gigs, dog shows, dance gigs, and author signings to try to sort through. So the son of one of my friends from LI (who also runs a character in that current campaign) DM'd for us and our regular DM got to play a character. Very cool.

[Note to self: It doesn't matter how long you have researched to find just the right name for your character...Róisín (Roh-sheen) looks like raisin to everyone that doesn't have any experience in the Irish language, and they will call you that. Anyway, back to the post...]

One of the things we do to frustrate our regular DM is that we keep picking up familiars. Strays, they are. I honestly don't remember how it happened with the first one, Terrence the Wombat, but since then we have another wombat, two goats, and several horses in our group. So this song by Colm R. McGuinness jumped out at me the first time I heard it, and I thought it was appropriate for this week. Enjoy, and remember, a troll is not a familiar.

Music Monday: Celts at Faire

This weekend was my first one back at the Georgia Renaissance Festival (spring) and despite the dust and a slightly skittish wolfhound it was glorious. One more Irish tune to play for this weekend of pipes, drums, and Celtic culture, i nGaeilge of course. It mentions Grace O'Malley! How could I not...enjoy.
Lyrics below.

Oró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile by Seth Staton Watkins
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró 'sé do bheatha ′bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh!
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh!
′Sé do bheatha a bhean ba léanmharB'é ár gcreach tú bheith i ngéibhinnDo dhúiche bhreá i seilibh meirleach!Is tú díolta leis na Gallaibh
Óró 'sé do bheatha ′bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh
Tá Gráinne Mhaol ag teacht thar sáileÓglaigh armtha léi mar ghardaGaeil iad féin is ní Gaill ná Spáinnigh!Cuirfidh siad ruaig ar Ghallaibh!
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró 'sé do bheatha ′bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh
A bhuí le rí na bhfeart go bhfeiceannMuna mbíonn beo ina dhiaidh ach seachtainGráinne Mhaol is míle gaiscíochAg fógairt fáin ar Ghallaibh
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh
Óró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaileÓró 'sé do bheatha ′bhaileÓró ′sé do bheatha 'bhaile!Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh

Music Monday, err...Tuesday?

One more from Chasing Abbey because I am more and more in love with this band...and I'm still waiting for them to release Saoirse... But this one speaks to the state of our country and our world today. 

"The scars of war are hard to fade/so who's to gain?/So who's to gain? Ní mise (not me)/Ní tusa (not you)\Ní mise (not me)/Ní tusa (not you)."