Course:A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal
| CRWR 501P 003 |
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| Advanced Writing of Poetry |
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A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal from Brave
A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal is a song from Disney-Pixar’s Brave, released in 2012. Written in Gaelic (or the film’s approximation of Gaelic), the song is presented as a lullaby sung by the protagonist’s mother to the protagonist as a child during a thunderstorm. The scene takes place during a flashback in which the protagonist is desperately missing her mother. The lyrics translate to your typical little girl’s lullaby: mommy’s here for you, you are loved, etc. You can listen to the song here.
A naoidhean bhig, cluinn mo ghuth
Mise ri d' thaobh, Ó mhaighdean bhàn
Ar rìbhinn òg, fàs a's faic
Do thìr, dìleas fhéin
A ghrian a's a ghealach, stiùir sinn
Gu uair ar cliù 's ar glòir
Naoidhean bhig, ar rìbhinn òg
Mhaighdean uasal bhàn
Simply by nature of the song’s language (and my unfamiliarity with it), this was one of the first pieces I transcribed and memorised by listening to it again and again. As a singer, I needed to know how to replicate the beauty I heard from the movie. Eventually I managed to learn the song and make meaning from words I originally didn’t understand.
A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal influenced the way I understand sound, and by extension, language as a whole. Though I didn’t understand the words, I made meaning from the music and sound of the lyrics. If you get a chance to listen to the song, focus on the throaty accents, the emotion conveyed by sound and rhythm alone. I am moved by the way in which we can communicate with sounds, even without shared understanding of what they are “supposed” to mean.