Smeòrach Chlann Dhomhnuill [English translation]

[Chorus:]

Hi lili vak hi lili vak ho al il o

Ho lili vak hi lili vak ho ro i

Hi lili vak hi lili vak ho al il o

I'm a song thrush belonging to Clann Donald.

A song thrush I on the floor at Paball,

shrinking into a sleepy doze,

unwilling to go any further,

in the depths of my sorrow my spirit made a mighty leap.

[chorus]

A song thrush I on the summit of a mountain

seeing the sun and bright skies;

I'll come calmly close to the grove

and I'll be living on other sustenance.

[chorus]

If each bird praises its own land

how then should I not praise

the land of sowings, the land of minstrel bands,

the fruitful, bountiful, well respected land

[chorus]

The land that's not narrow beside the sea

the dear, gentle, mild land,

the land abounding in calves, lambs, and goats,

the land of bread, honied and milky.

[chorus]

I was born in Cladh Cothan,

in Aird-a-Runnair I got my upbringing,

the sight of the proud pulsating sea,

of the giddy, deceptive, frolicsome waves.

[chorus]

Amongst the MacDonalds I grew up.

Sailor people with bright-coloured banners,

swift ships on wide seas,

a people who are not slow to unsheath a blue1 sword.

[chorus]

[chorus]

1. tempered steel used to make a sword blade and treated to avoid rust was often blue