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Níl Agam Ach Do Scáth (I Have Nothing But Your Shadow)
(for Jason Webley)

Lyrics and English Translation © 2001 by Karen Olsen
Tune: Ballinderry (trad. Irish)

Hear this song on the Lair's YouTube Channel!

*****

I mo sheasamh liom féin i gcoinne an oiche,
Ag an Samhain seo, níl agam ach do scáth.
Ach mar ritheann tuirne an Sheanbhean Dhamháin Alla,
Maireann do chuimhní i mo shaoil go deo.

M'ochón, mo rún óg, óró.
M'ochón, mo rún óg, óró.

[Standing on my own against the night,
At Samhain this year, I have nothing but your shadow.
But as the Old Spider Woman's spindle runs,
Your memories live on in my life always.
]

[Alas, oh my young beloved one. (2X)]

Ansiúd ag mo bhalla thíar altóir na Samhna,
Le coinneal bánchorcra 's duilleoga an fhómhair.
Tá d'aghaidh síofrógach air i measc na marbh--
'S do bháidín dhubhdara thar Sáile Síar Mór.
(Cúrfa)

[Over at my western wall (is) a Samhain altar,
With a candle of pale-violet and autumn leaves.
Your spritelike face is there among the dead--
And your little boat of black oak on the Great Western Sea.
]

Mo bheatha, mo chúisle do cheol 's do chomhairle,
Ach táimse ró-chúthail leat gan mhían 's gan fáth.
Ba mhaith liom a chanadh, a chuideamh an áthas leat,
Ach théarnaigh mo chrosán go hOileán na Scáth.
(Cúrfa)

[Your music and your influence is my lifeblood, my heartbeat,
But I am too shy with you without wish and without cause.
I would like to sing and share joy with you,
But my jester has fled to the Island of Shadows.
]

I do chodladh i láimh deasa an Bhandhia Mhara,
B'fhéidir nach dtiocfaidh mé 'steach i do thaibhrimh--
Ach mar ritheann lae ó maidin go hoiche,
Maireann do cheol i mo chroí go deo.

M'ochón, mo rún óg, óró
M'ochón, mo rún óg, óró
M'ochón, mo rún óg, óró.

[In your sleeping in the sweet arms of the Sea Goddess,
Perhaps I will not enter into your dreams--
But as a day runs from morning until evening,
Your music lives on in my heart always.
]

[Alas, oh my young beloved one.(3X)]

*****

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