Key signature: Dmajor
Submitted on November 18th 2004 by daithic.
This tune has been added to 95 tunebooks.
Also known as Mná Na HEirann, Mná Na HEireann, Women Of Ireland.
Recordings of a tune by this name:
X: 1
T: Mna Na HEireann
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: barndance
K: Dmaj
"Em"EEF G d4|d"E"edc "A"E4|EF "Em"G2 FG E2|"A"E6 z2|
"Em"EEF G d4|d"E"edc "A"E4|EF "G"G2 FG "A"A2|A6 z2|
G"D"FA "Bm"D D4|z "Bm"DD d d4|e"G"fed BA B2|B6 AG|
F"Em"E d4 de|"A"dcA "G"B4 E|E2 DC "D"D4||
Mna na heireann
It's really a Slow Air, in an alternative setting I got from a book called An Pota Stoir.
If anyone wants to add their variations please feel free.
It is normally set in the key of G.
# Posted on November 18th 2004 by daithic
One set of lyrics for the song...
There's a woman in Ireland who'd give me shelter and my fill of ale
There's a woman in Ireland who'd prefer my singing to strings being played
There's a woman in Ireland who'd prefer me leaping than laid in the clay
and my belly under the sod
There's a woman in Ireland who'd envy me if I got naught but a kiss
from a woman at a fair , isn't it strange, and the love I have for them
There's a woman I'd prefer more to a battalion,
and a hundred of them I will never get
And an ugly, swarthy man with no English has a beautiful girl
There's a woman who would say that if I walked with her I'd get the gold
A woman in night dress whose mein is better than herds of cows
With a woman who would deafen Ballymoyer and the plain of Tyrone
And I see no cure for my disease but to give up the drink
# Posted on November 19th 2004 by Zina Lee
And in Irish...
Ta bean in Eirinn a phronnfadh sead damh is mo shaith le n-ol
Is ta bean in Eireann is ba bhinne leithe mo rafla ceoil
No seinm thead; ata bean in Eirinn is niorbh fhearr lei beo
Mise ag leimnigh no leagtha i gcre is mo tharr faoi fhod
Ta bean in Eirinn a bheadh ag ead liom mur bhfaighfinn ach pog
O/ bhean ar aonach, nach ait an sceala, is mo dhaimh fein leo;
Ta bean ab fhearr liom no cath is cead dhiobh nach bhfagham go deo
Is ta cailin speiriuil ag fear gan Bhearla, dubhghranna croin.
Ta bean a dearfadh da siulann leithe go bhfaighinn an t-or,
Is ta bean 'na leine is is fearr a mein no na tainte bo
Le bean a bhuairfeadh Baile an Mhaoir is clar Thir Eoghain,
Is ni fhaicim leigheas ar mo ghalar fein ach scaird a dh'ol.
# Posted on November 19th 2004 by Zina Lee
Women of Ireland
This beautiful air was composed by Sean O'Riada, the founder of Ceoltoiri Cualann, and was performed by the Chieftains on their fourth record and for Stanley Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon. But you probably knew that already...
# Posted on November 19th 2004 by Tommy McCarty
The Christians
... and was used by the pop group The Christians in the 80s for their song "Words".....
# Posted on November 19th 2004 by Henk Bos
Women of Ireland
This was my first introduction to Sean O'Riada from a cover of the song by Jazz musician Bob James (whose version of the song I can no longer bear to listen to, having heard other more appropriately traditional settings.
This was also used for the soundtrack of the film of John Millington Synge's "Playboy of the Western World."
# Posted on November 20th 2004 by jimhale
Variation
Here is the G variation with words etc
K:G
| G-ABc | g2 a~g | fdA2 | ABc2 | BcA2 | ~A4 | G-ABc | g2 b~a |
| gfdA- | AABc- | cBcd- | dcBd | G2 G g- | gaba- | ag2e | de2 d |
| cBAg- | ga2g | fd2 e | cA2G | FG3 |]
Séan O Riada (words by Peadar O Doirnin ?1704-1769)
Ta bean in Eireann a phronnfadh sead damh is mo shaith le n-ol
Is ta bean in Eireann is ba bhinne leithe mo rafla ceoil
No seinm thead; ata bean in Eirinn is niorbh fhearr lei beo
Mise ag leimnigh no leagtha i gcre is mo tharr faoi fhod
Ta bean in Eireann a bheadh ag ead liom mur bhfaighfinn ach pog
O bhean ar aonach, nach ait an sceala, is mo dhaimh fein leo;
Ta bean ab fhearr liom no cath is cead dhiobh nach bhfagham go deo
Is ta cailin speiriuil ag fear gan Bhearla, dubhghranna croin.
Ta bean a dearfadh da siulann leithe go bhfaighinn an t-or,
Is ta bean 'na leine is is fearr a mein no na tainte bo
Le bean a bhuairfeadh Baile an Mhaoir is clar Thir Eoghain,
Is ni fhaicim leigheas ar mo ghalar fein ach scaird a dh'ol.
Translation
There's a woman in Ireland who'd give me shelter and my fill of ale;
And there's a woman in Ireland who'd prefer the strains of my music
To the playing of strings;
There's a woman in Ireland and nothing would please her more
Than me burning or lying in the clay beneath the sod.
There's a woman in Ireland who would be envious if I were to get only a kiss
From a woman at a fair, isn't it strange, and I love them all;
There's a woman whom I prefer to battle and a hundred of them I will never get
And there's a beautiful girl who belongs to a man without English, so ugly.
There's a woman who would say that if I would wander with her I would find gold;
And there's a woman in a shift whose beauty is worth more than the cattle raids
With a woman who vexed Ballymoyer and the plain of Tyrone {this is a
reference to Maeve and the cattle raid of Cooley, a Cuchulainn tale}
And I see no cure for my illness but drink.
# Posted on November 30th 2004 by daithic
Women of Ireland, alternative version
X:1
T: Women of Ireland
C:Sean ÓRiada
S:as played by James Galway
O:Origin
Q:"Larghetto"
R:air
L:1/8
M:6/8
K:G
A2B | "am" cg2-g3- | g{g}a2~g | "D" fA2-A3- |
A3-AAB | "C" c3-c2B/c/ |[1 "D" A6- | ~A6- | A3 :|
[2 "D" d3-dcA | "G" B/d/G2-G3- | G3-G2 G| "em" g6- | g3- gab |
"am" a2g-g ~ed | "C" e6- | e3 "D" dcB | "em" Ag2-g3- | g3 "am" {g}a2~g|
"D" fd2-d3 | "am" eA2- "D" A3- | A3-A~GF | "G" G6- | G3 ||
# Posted on May 8th 2007 by Falkbeer