A Legacy of the Highland Clearances | |
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| Gaelic | English |
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Bi mis'nam athair a's nasm mhathair Nam charaigean sheasmhach bi mi dhuit Le blathan na coile eidich mi thu Na d'aonar cha bhi thu gu brath Thaing sinn a Gabhsan nan gorm uisge Nul air druim a chuain bha garth Cus an d'raing sinn loch Huron Cha bhi chaoidh aon ni mar bha Bi mis'nam athair a's nasm mhathair Nam charaigean sheasmhach bi mi dhuit Le blathan na coile eidich mi thu Na d'aonar cha bhi thu gu brath Coilltean Huron lom la fearg a ghe amhraidh Ar dachaidh san eilean fad air folbh Sneachd na chuidh sna neoil air ciaradh Chan ait'e do dhuire leis fhin Bi mis'nam athair a's nasm mhathair Nam charaigean sheasmhach bi mi dhuit Le blathan na coile eidich mi thu Na d'aonar cha bhi thu gu brath |
I will be your mother and your father
I will be the standing stones And I will dress you in flowers from the forest And you will never ever be alone We came from Galson’s blue and misty waters across the raging ocean main until we came to Huron’s mighty waters nothing will ever be the same again I will be your mother and your father I will be the standing stones And I will dress you in flowers from the forest And you will never ever be alone The woods of Huron, bleak in winters fury Seems far away from our island home With snow so deep and skies so dark above us No place for one to be alone I will be your mother and your father I will be the standing stones And I will dress you in flowers from the forest And you will never ever be alone |
| Background |
Many of the Lewis Settlement's young bachelors "sent home" to their native island for brides. Whether this was due to a shortage of available females within the Huron Township Lewis community itself or an unwillingness on the part of the settlers to intermarry with other ethnic groups, it is not clear. What is clear, however, is that for these uprooted brides, life in the backwoods was difficult, at least initially. Not only did they have to brave the long Atlantic voyage and subsequent trip inland alone but upon arrival in the wilderness they were expected to carry out all the backbreaking duties associated with a pioneer wife. Most had probably never been outside of their tiny Lewis parishes prior to the journey overseas. Separated by an ocean and half a continent from their families and friends, one can only hope that their husbands were as sympathetic to their plight as the groom portrayed in Angus' song. I will be your mother and your father I will be the standing stones I will dress you in flowers from the forest And you will never, ever be alone. |
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