"Sí Bhean Locha Léin" means “The Fairy Woman of Locha Léin. (Locha Léin is in Kerry.) Sí Bhean" of course means precisely the same as '"Bean Sí" (in popular culture known as the fairy woman who weeps for someone's death, and in “Darby O’Gill and the Little People”, and similarly accurate accounts of Irish folk-belief, as a demon who comes to kill.)
Fairy women are not at all mean though, mischievous perhaps but never unjustly malevolent. The negative publicity about fairy women is purely a product of the Puritanism that sadly became the norm in Ireland since the 18th century. In this song the fairy woman is the active party gaining the affections of a mortal man; nothing wrong with that surely!
Herself was into faerie things a few years ago. And my recollection is that their intentions and actions varied widely.
Having given up Catholic guilt for lent many years ago (and never looking back), as well as related hyper-respect things for most things institutional religious (strangely I am still in the employ of Mother Church), I am of the same mind about the spin on things by Puritanism (but we really can't neglect the impact of Roman Catholicism).
I think Machiavelli once said something like, "Teachers inspire great ideas, Priests destroy them." I'm sure that is a bit extreme but sometimes may have a ring of truth.
I think Victor Hugo said much the same thing: “In every village there is a flame and an extinguisher, the teacher, and the priest!”
The Puritanism I’m talking about here was the attitude adopted by the Catholic Church at the time (possibly from the local non-Catholic puritans). The mediaeval Irish Church was not puritanical in general, and the Irish clergy were regarded by Rome and the European Church as dangerously permissive. The counter-reformation and the extraordinary influence of british empire and irish protestantism made the Catholic Church in Ireland very puritanical in character. The new breed of clergy opposed music, dancing, laughing, sensuality of all forms, and were well known for being opposed to Gaelic language, culture, folklore, etc., and condemned any anti-imperial subversion. (There were always exceptions, but the institution’s position was unvaryingly pro-empire and anti-Gaelic.)
That's what I like about ITM. It is the music of resistance. Tommy Makem may have made the Republican music popular...but you have to have tremendous respect for the musicians who kept it alive for all those years when the people wanted to destroy the culture.
We have it easy.. All we have to contend with is people who want us to sound like the Cheiftans or whoever they saw last week on PBS or some Irish cruise liner
The Ban Shee (Anglicized pronunciation)
Apart from been a good reel, the name still stikes fear in my old heart from the days of childhood. The thought of seeing a little woman dressed in white and hearing her a weeping and a wailing while she waited for the soul of a family member of someone whose surname started with O as in O'Reilly or Mac as in McDermott still fills me with dread.
Si-Bhean Locha Lein
Si-Bhean Locha Lein
I discovered this beautiful tune today and am wondering if anyone can translate the title please?
Thank you, Johanna
# Posted on January 30th 2008 by johanna wolff
Re: Si-Bhean Locha Lein
I think Si-Bhean translates as "fairy woman", and may be the same as the name Siobhan.
I don't think the Si-Bheans were cute babes with gauzy wings. They probably grew forests under their armpits and ate people.
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by nicholas
Re: Si-Bhean Locha Lein
ROTFLMAO!!!
Truth is stranger than fiction.
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by Fishmonger
Re: Si-Bhean Locha Lein
"Sí Bhean Locha Léin" means “The Fairy Woman of Locha Léin. (Locha Léin is in Kerry.) Sí Bhean" of course means precisely the same as '"Bean Sí" (in popular culture known as the fairy woman who weeps for someone's death, and in “Darby O’Gill and the Little People”, and similarly accurate accounts of Irish folk-belief, as a demon who comes to kill.)
Fairy women are not at all mean though, mischievous perhaps but never unjustly malevolent. The negative publicity about fairy women is purely a product of the Puritanism that sadly became the norm in Ireland since the 18th century. In this song the fairy woman is the active party gaining the affections of a mortal man; nothing wrong with that surely!
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by neddiescotus
Re: Si-Bhean Locha Lein
DArby O'Gill???????!!!!!!
Blast from the past.
Herself was into faerie things a few years ago. And my recollection is that their intentions and actions varied widely.
Having given up Catholic guilt for lent many years ago (and never looking back), as well as related hyper-respect things for most things institutional religious (strangely I am still in the employ of Mother Church), I am of the same mind about the spin on things by Puritanism (but we really can't neglect the impact of Roman Catholicism).
I think Machiavelli once said something like, "Teachers inspire great ideas, Priests destroy them." I'm sure that is a bit extreme but sometimes may have a ring of truth.
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by zippydw
Re: Sí-Bhean Locha Léin
I think Victor Hugo said much the same thing: “In every village there is a flame and an extinguisher, the teacher, and the priest!”
The Puritanism I’m talking about here was the attitude adopted by the Catholic Church at the time (possibly from the local non-Catholic puritans). The mediaeval Irish Church was not puritanical in general, and the Irish clergy were regarded by Rome and the European Church as dangerously permissive. The counter-reformation and the extraordinary influence of british empire and irish protestantism made the Catholic Church in Ireland very puritanical in character. The new breed of clergy opposed music, dancing, laughing, sensuality of all forms, and were well known for being opposed to Gaelic language, culture, folklore, etc., and condemned any anti-imperial subversion. (There were always exceptions, but the institution’s position was unvaryingly pro-empire and anti-Gaelic.)
# Posted on January 31st 2008 by neddiescotus
Re: Si-Bhean Locha Lein
neddiescotus
I think you got the quote right.
That's what I like about ITM. It is the music of resistance. Tommy Makem may have made the Republican music popular...but you have to have tremendous respect for the musicians who kept it alive for all those years when the people wanted to destroy the culture.
We have it easy.. All we have to contend with is people who want us to sound like the Cheiftans or whoever they saw last week on PBS or some Irish cruise liner
# Posted on February 1st 2008 by zippydw
Re: Si-Bhean Locha Lein
Thanks very much for translating the title; interesting stuff too!
# Posted on February 1st 2008 by johanna wolff
Re: Si-Bhean Locha Lein
The Ban Shee (Anglicized pronunciation)
Apart from been a good reel, the name still stikes fear in my old heart from the days of childhood. The thought of seeing a little woman dressed in white and hearing her a weeping and a wailing while she waited for the soul of a family member of someone whose surname started with O as in O'Reilly or Mac as in McDermott still fills me with dread.
# Posted on February 1st 2008 by Free Reed