17. 5:12 Seamus MacNeil
Iuraibh O Chan Eil Mi Slan
I AM NOT WELL

Chorus:

Iuraibh o, I am not well.
Hug orainn o, I cannot stay at rest.
Iuraibh o, I am not well.

1.I am sad cutting flax, the tears from my head are streaming to the ground.

2. If you dealt with me unjustly, Blue Donald, I treated you like the other women.

3. I treated you as your sister did, perhaps even better.

4. I did not beseech God to destroy you although you brought ruin to my household.

5. Although you gave me a croft, I gave you a more valuable gift.

6. Although you took the three (men) from me, their father is decaying in the sod.

7. Although you gave me a golden guinea, the group that went forth to battle was more precious.

8.

9. You took John and Donald, and Alasdair of the fair ringlets, from me.

10. If you had left Hector with me, I would not have complained so much about the others.

11. It would have been better for you to have taken the cattle from the glen than to have to face the piercing cries of woe from widows about their families.

12. It is a pity that I could not assume the shape of a seagull, then lightly would I swim away.

13. I would swim over the channel in order to ascertain whether the boys were treated well.

14. It is a pity that I could not see four men in a boat approaching the shore.

15. Four of my beloved companions who would depart gladly with the oars.

16. And if you understood my cause of grief, you would put the coracle to sea.

17. I would rather put the galley to sea to which would be hoisted the tall sails.

18. And if my feet could touch the bottom of the deep, I would not remain on this promontory.

19. It is the separation of the men from each other that has left me dejected each day.

20. Parting from John and Donald has shed my tears with good reason.

21. May the blessing of God follow you, Hector, you were my choice over all others.

22. I shall now proceed forward whilst the tears from my head are streaming to the ground.