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Mairi’s Wedding (WORD)
Mairi’s Wedding (PDF)
Sir Hugh Stevenson Roberton wrote the English words for "Mairi's Wedding", which bore little resemblance to Bannerman's original and made no reference to the original inspiration for the song, the winning of a Mòd gold medal. He published this in 1936, giving the song the alternative title of "The Lewis Bridal Song". Roberton presented an original signed copy of his score to Mary C. MacNiven and it became one of her most prized possessions. When the song was published in Roberton's "Songs of the Isles" by J Curwen & Sons Ltd (1951), the Gaelic words did not appear and Bannerman was not acknowledged, the tune being "noted from Dr. Peter A. MacLeod."
Sheiling - a hut, or collection of huts, once common in a wild or lonely place in the hills and mountains of Scotland and northern England. The word also refers to a mountain pasture used for the grazing of cattle in summer.
Creel - a type of small wicker basket mainly used by anglers to hold fish or other prey. A creel is designed to function as an evaporative cooler when lined with moss and dipped into the creek in order to keep the catch chilled. Another type of creel is the turf creel. A small wicker basket raditionally used in the west of Ireland there are a variety of styles and sizes. These creels were commonly used for carrying peat fuel.
Rowans - The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus Sorbus of the rose family Rosaceae. Formerly, when a wider variety of fruits were commonly eaten in Europe and North America, Sorbus was a domestically used fruit throughout these regions.