Traditional Scottish song.
Preformed by the
Minstrels of Mayhem on the album
The Minstrels of Mayhem NOW
When I've done my work of day,
And I row my boat away
Down the waters of Loch Tay
As the evening light is fading
And I look upon Ben Lawers
Where the after glory glows
And I think on two bright eyes
And the melting mouth below.
She's my beauteous nighean ruadh,
She's my joy and sorrow too
And although she is untrue,
Well I cannot live without her
For my heart's a boat in tow
And I'd give the world to know
Why she means to let me go
As I sing horee horo.
Nighean ruadh, your lovely hair
Has more glamour I declare
Than all the tresses rare
'tween Killin and Aberfeldy
Be they lint white, brown or gold,
Be they blacker than the sloe
They are worth no more to me
Than the melting flake of snow.
Her eyes are like the gleam
O' the sunlight on the stream
And the songs the fairies sing
Seem like songs she sings at milking
But my heart is full of woe,
For last night she bade me go
And the tears begin to flow,
As I sing horee, horo.
She's my beauteous nighean ruadh,
She's my joy and sorrow too
And although she is untrue,
Well I cannot live without her
For my heart's a boat in tow
And I'd give the world to know
Why she means to let me go
As I sing horee horo.
Loch Tay itself is in the Heart of McNab County in the central highlands of Scotland. The towns of Killin and Aberfeldy are towns at the east and west ends of the lake. Ben Lawers is a hill on the north side of Loch Tay.
"nighean ruadh" is "red-haired (little) girl".
For those who have difficulty with the Celtic language
She's my beauteous nighean ruadh,
becomes
She's my darling red-head girl,
and the line
Nighean ruadh, your lovely hair
becomes
One lock of her auburn hair
The phrase 'horee horo' (alternate spelling 'hori horo') is used to
indicate sorrow.
Various formats for the score can be found at:
http://www.numachi.com/cgi-bin/rickheit/dtrad/lookup?ti=LOCHTAY&tt=LOCHTAY
I would welcome anyone to put the music in an E2 friendly format.