Category Archives: Gaelic Words

Great Scot! Music Monday – Julie Fowlis – An Eala Bhàn/The White Swan

As those of you who follow my personal Twitter feed (@rtidwell730) may have noticed, I have been completely caught by a new BBC series The Crimson Field.  TCF is the story of a WWI field hospital and the nurses and doctors that work there.  Richard Rankin (@RikRankin, who did the Scottish words and noises videos for the Heughligans) is one of the stars. Oona Chaplin from Game of Thrones is another and Outlander’s own Richard Clark directs 2 episodes. I really hope that this series is brought to US television at some point as it is excellent.

Anyway, to make a long story short (too late, I know), this week’s music is a beautiful song in Gàidhlig sung by Julie Fowlis called ‘An Eala Bhàn (The White Swan)’.  In addition to being beautiful, this song was written by Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna (Donald MacDonald of Coruna), a Scottish-Gaelic poet from North Uist, whilst fighting in the battle of the Somme, in the trenches of the Great War, for his love, Mhagaidh Nic Leòid (Maggie MacLeod).  (http://youtu.be/6qWWgntTdO0)

I also really like this video as it has lyric subtitles in both Gàidhlig and English.

Julie Fowlis – An Eala Bhàn/The White Swan

 

Who would have thought…

When I started the Great Scot! blog a couple of months ago, I had no real expectations. I was really just looking to add in a unique  way to the Outlander universe. However, thanks to you guys out there, Great Scot! has just hit 10,000 page views. I think that is a great achievement for such a niche part of the Outlander blogosphere.

Thanks so much for all the support! I look forward to continuing to provide exposure for the Gàidhlig culture so many of us have come to love and treasure! Thanks also to those like Àdhamh Ó Broin and Fiona Mackenzie who don’t mind me sharing their work through this blog.

Here’s to the next 10,000 views!

Reminder for the Q&A with Àdhamh next week (and a cool new picture from the set)

Starz posted the following on Twitter and Facebook today. I thought it was worth a separate blog post since it is a cool new on set picture of Àdhamh working! I believe that is Rupert with whom he appears to be going over dialog. This picture is also another confirmation that Outlander isn’t going to be a ‘clean’ version of the 18th century.  Just look at all that strategically placed dirt!

AdhamhTweetQA

It sounds like the Q&A will be conducted over the @Outlander_Starz Twitter account and not Adhamh’s personal account (@an_comhghallach). Also, be sure to send use the hashtag #AskAdhamh when participating.

Mark your calendars! Tweet chat with Àdhamh next Wednesday.

Outlander’s own Gàidhlig expert, Àdhamh Ò Broin will be conducting his first Tweet chat for #Outlanders on Wednesday, April 23rd at 1:30 pm EDT. This is your chance to get those burning Gaelic questions answered. Who knows, maybe he’ll tell us who has been the best student on set and whose knuckles he’s had to rap.

 

How to Speak Outlander: Lesson 7 ‘Je Suis Prest ‘

OK, so it’s not Gàidhlig , but I could hardly let the latest “How to Speak Outlander” video go unmentioned. If nothing else, we finally have Àdhamh giving us the correct pronunciation of his name, and that is Gàidhlig.  So, please, let’s all enjoy this video once more. Say it with me…

How to Speak Outlander: Lesson 7 ‘Je Suis Prest’