This song was sung at the end of a waulking — a rhythmic, labor-intensive process of cloth-making that involves applying force to cloth, particularly wool, to make the fibers thicker and softer. Waulking songs are generally only sung by women, as men do not participate in the waulking at all.
When the waulking proper has finished, the web of fibers is rolled up to be “clapped.” Of this particular song, Kennedy-Fraser writes: “The hungry rage of the man with his ‘uabh, uabh, uabh, uabhan’ and the mocking glee of the woman with her ‘hì-ri-rì-ri-rì-ri-rì-bhag’ clapped the cloth into shape and the fun was at an end.”
|
Thainig mo bhodachan dachaidh. Thuirt e, fuireachdainn faireachdainn, “Thoir rud.” Uabh, uabh, uabh, uabhan, Bhrist e’n guite, Hhoro, Uabh, uabh, uabh, uabhan… Shrachd e’n criathar, Hhoro, Uabh, uabh, uabh, uabhan… |
My old man came home. He said, blustering and raging, “Meat for me.” [The Angry Man]: Oof, oof, oof! He broke everything, horo, Uabh, uabh, uabh, uabhan… Angry and hungry he was, horo, Uabh, uabh, uabh, uabhan… |