A Song a Week #17 - Fhir a Chinn Duibh

Fhir a Chinn Duibh - Cumha na Cloinne / Black haired boy - Lament for the Children
This is a beautiful lament composed by renowned Skye piper Pàdruig Mòr MacCriommon after the death of seven of his sons to illness in the same year. The illness was brought to Dunvegan by a foreign ship, and left the family with only one surviving son. The song only has four short lines, but combines heartbreak with the guilt of favouring his black haired son above the others.
Fhir a chinn duibh thug mi gaol dhut
Fhir a chinn duibh, thug mi gràdh dhut
Thug mi gaol is thug mi gràdh dhut
Thug mi gaol nach tug mi chàch dhut
Fhir a chinn duibh, thug mi gràdh dhut
Boy with the black hair, I gave you love
Boy with the black hair, I gave you affection
I gave you love and affection
That I did not give to others
Boy with the black hair I gave you love
The MacCrimmon pipers were hereditary pipers to the Clan MacLeod. The song is a piobaireachd song, which is linked to the great music or Ceòl Mòr of the highland bagpipe tradition. The tune for the song most closely resembles the third variation of Cumha na Cloinne /Lament for the Children.