(le Róislín)

Bhuel, seo arís muid, working our way through glossing the song “C.E.A.R.T.A” by the Irish rap duo, Kneecap.  The links (naisc) for the three previous installments are below (thíos), as are links for the lyrics and the YouTube video of the song.  They discuss some of the Irish vocabulary in some of véarsaí 1 -7 and they also include a few notes on cultural references in the song.  For today’s post, I’m going to do a few words in véarsa 8 and in the curfá (chorus) with short glosses first, and the next post will be devoted Irish adjective “stuama,” which shows up in véarsa 8 (as part of “róstuama“).    I think “stuama” is an especially interesting word, since it can be translated in at least 50 different ways and yet, it doesn’t seem to show up much in basic materials for learners.

So, to start with, an curfá agus véarsa 8:

curfá: C.E.A.R.T.A., as noted previously, means “rights,” as in “cearta sibhialta.”  By spelling out the letters and singing them, the word stretches out to fit the meter of the song for that line, a clever and time-honored song-writing device.  BTW, I’ve found some other interesting examples of this technique, and I remember some from childhood, but I can’t say I recall any others in Irish.  Cúpla nasc thíos.

curfá: is cuma liomsa, this reminds me a little of the phrase I’ve mostly heard in Northern Irish, “Is cuma liom sa tsioc” (I really don’t care), which is a slightly stronger form of “Is cuma liom” (I don’t care).

curfá: dúidín, a white clay short-stemmed pipe, the type often seen in St. Patrick’s Day cards today, and similar to the one in the graphic above, depending on the original length of the stem, before it became “briste.”   At least, that’s the original meaning.  Not sure that’s exactly the intent in this song.  Anyway, for an interesting link to a website on the materials tobacco pipes may be made, féach an nasc thíos.

curfá: lasta, lit, as in “Tá an cipín lasta” (The match is lit).

curfá: róghasta, too fast from ró-, to + g(h)asta, fast, quick

véarsa 8: goitse, is also a word I’ve mostly heard in the North, meaning “come here.”  It’s singular, so if you’re speaking to two or more people, you say “goitsigí.”  When I first learned this, I thought it was just an anomaly, but eventually I found out it was a reduced version of “gabh go dtí an áit seo” (come to this place).  “Gabh,” of course, primarily means “take,” “accept,” “catch,” “capture,” “invade,” “undertake,” or “go,” as if that isn’t enough, but in this context, at least, it means “come.”  Normally we’d say “Tar!” and “Tagaigí!” for “Come!”

The next installment in this series will start with “stuama,” and then we should be wrapping up pretty soon.  GRMA as an tsuim a bheith agat san amhrán.  Má tá nóta tráchta ar bith agat faoi, scríobh isteach agus inis dúinn do bharúil, más mian leat.  – Róislín

Iarbhlagmhíreanna sa mhionsraith seo faoin amhrán “C.E.A.R.T.A”:

Cuid a hAon den ghluais: A Short Glossary for the Irish Rap Song “C.E.A.R.T.A” by Kneecap (Rapcheol Gaeilge) [Cuid/Pt.1] Posted by róislín on Jan 7, 2018 in Irish Language

Cuid a Dó den ghluais: A Short Glossary for the Irish Rap Song “C.E.A.R.T.A” by Kneecap (Rapcheol Gaeilge) [Cuid/Pt.2]Posted by róislín on Jan 11, 2018 in Irish Language

Cuid a Trí den ghluais: A Short Glossary for the Irish Rap Song “C.E.A.R.T.A” by Kneecap (Rapcheol Gaeilge) [Cuid/Pt. 3]Posted by róislín on Jan 15, 2018 in Irish Language

nasc don amhrán:  “C.E.A.R.T.A” le Kneecap, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sf0htzbMKk

nasc do na liricí: https://nos.ie/cultur/ceol/amhran-na-haoine-cearta-kneecap/  Foireann NÓS  15ú Nollaig 2017  CEOL#amhrán aoine  Amhrán na hAoine  ‘C.E.A.R.T.A.’, le Kneecap

acronym song titles: these two are so well known the don’t need a specific lin: “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” by Tammy Wynette, and “M-O-T-H-E-R” (M is for the million things she gave me …) by lyricist Howard Johnson, and on the edgier side: https://globalgrind.cassiuslife.com/4040386/best-acronym-songs-of-2014-list/  and some heated opinions on the topic (pro and con): https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/71zuxk/acronyms_for_song_titles/

Agus maidir le píopaí: https://pipedia.org/wiki/Materials_and_Construction