Fear a bhata [English translation]

Often I look from the highest hill

To find whether I can see the boatman.

Will you come today or will you come tomorrow?

And if you don't come at all I will be miserable.

O, boatman, "na horo eile"

O, boatman, "na horo eile"

O, boatman, "na horo eile"

Fare well, good health be with you everywhere you go.

My heart is bruised and broken

And often the tears run from my eyes

Will you come tonight or will I be expecting you

or will I close the door with a mournful sigh.

My darling promised me a gown of silk

He promised that and an elegant plaid

A golden ring in which I would see his1 image

but I'm afraid he will forget.

From now on I shall be mournfully tearful,

Like a white swan which has been sorely wounded,

Having a death cry on a little grassy lake

when all have forsaken her.

1. I'm assuming an elided possessive pronoun here; if there isn't one it would be "an" instead of "his"

• Artist:Mairi MacInnes