A Bhuinnean Bhui is e mo chra do lui
Is do chnamha sinte ar leaca lom'
Is nach dtearn tu dith no dolaidh sa tir
Is narbh fhearr leat fion no uisce poill.
Da gcuirfea sceala fa mo dhein
Go raibh tu i ngeibhinn no i ndeacair iot'
O bhainfinnse beim ar Loch Mhic an Ein
A fhliuchfadh do bheal is do bhrollach sios.
Ni hiad bhur n-eanlaith ata me ag eagaoin
An chuach, an traona na an chorr-bhreac
Ach an Buinnean Bui, a bhi lan de chroi
Is gur cosuil liom fein e i snua is i ndreach.
Bhiodh se ag siorol na di
Is deir daoine go mbim ar an nos sin seal
Is nil braon da bhfuighinn nach ligfinn sios
Ar fhaitios go bhfuighinn fein bas den tart!
Is e 'd'iarr mo stor orm ligint den ol
No nach mbeinnse beo ach seal beag gearr:
Is e duirt me lei gur chan si an bhreag
No go mb'fhaide do mo shaol an braon seo a fhail.
Nach bhfeiceann tu ean an phiobain reidh
Go dteachaidh si in eag den tart ar ball?
Is a dhaoine cleibh, fliuchaigi bhur mbeal
No ni bhfuighidh sibh braon i ndiaidh bhur mbais!
Oh Yellow Bittern, alas to see you stretched
And your bones there lying on bare flagstones
You did no harm at all in the country
And would just as prefer ditch water to wine
Had you only sent me a message
That you were in a quandry, in need of a drink
I would have broken the ice on the lake
To wet your beak and all the way down to your breast.
I'm not lamenting your ordinary birds
The cuckoo, the corncrake or the dappled heron
But the yellow bittern of the great heart
Who was just like me in many ways
He was always fond of the sup
And people say I'm fond of a drop myself
Whatever drink comes my way, it's down it goes
For fear that I might one day die of thirst!
And my darling asked me to give up the booze
Or I'd only be alive a short while more,
I told her straight out she was telling a lie
And that the drink extended my life's span.
Don't you see that bird with the smooth neck
That only a while ago perished with the thirst?
Ah, my pleasant people, wet your whistles
Because after death ye won't get a drop!
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