Dean Bà Bà mo Leanabh

le Iain Camshron

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Dean bà bà mo leanabh, dean cadal a rùin
'S a mhaduinn gu mochthrathadh dh'fhosgail thu sùil
Nuair bha eunlaith na doire ri coireal 's puirt ciùil
Bha thu'd mhagaran làir, a'sòrach nan glùn

Tha na blàithean is àillidh tha fàs air na tuim
A' bhuidheag 's a neòinean 's iad òrbhuidh cruinn
An canachan mòintich, is sòbhrag na coill'
Air dùnadh an sùilean roimh dhùbhradh na h-oidhch'

Nis dean-sa do chadal, a chagarain gràidh
'S gun robh Freasdal 'g ad stiùradh 's gach cùis agus càs
'S e mo mhiann is mo dhùrachd thu, rùin, a bhidh fàs
Mar gheug is i brùchdadh toradh dùbailt thar chàich

This was a set piece in the Mod competition I entered when I was about 13 - more years ago than I care to count! The song itself is well-known and a popular lullaby. My girls ask for it a lot.

Translation:

Sleep my baby, sleep my dear
Very early in the morning you opened your eyes
When the birds in the trees were warbling and singing
You were crawling on the floor, wearing out your knees

The most beautiful flowers that grow in the fields
The buttercup and the daisy, round and golden yellow
The bog-cotton on the moor and the primroses in the wood
Have all closed their eyes before darkness falls

Now, you go to sleep, my little darling
And may God guide you in all you do
It is my desire that you, dear, may grow
Like a branch that produces twice the blossom of other branches