canasg choral music publishing

SG1503

Tha bean agam

(I have a wife)

traditional Gaelic words and tune

arranged by Sheena Phillips
for soprano, alto, tenor and bass chorus
SATB performance time approx 0m 50s (when sung twice through)

Arranger's note

This is a mischievous piece of Gaelic puirt-a-beul ('poorsht-a-beel') or mouth music - the name for songs written to accompany dancing. It's well known in Scotland and presents the musings of a man who would like to go out but needs a clean shirt to go out in; what can he do, he wonders, with the combination of dirty shirt, stream, soap and wife?

Traditionally, puirt-a-beul is sung unaccompanied and in unison but the tunes harmonise very well. Frequently they are sung in sequences of three or four, each song leading without a break into the next. Tha bean agam works well as the first song in the following set of four: Tha bean agam; Chuala mi e; Còta fad air Dòmhnull lòm; 'S ann an Ile (all published by Canasg).

The piece has not been marked dynamically - feel free to experiment. I would suggest singing it at least twice through in performance so as to give the audience a proper taste of it.

Music

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Hear a MIDI file of the song

Words

Tha bean agam (I have a wife)

Tha bean agam, tha taigh agam,
Tha allt aig ceann an taighe agam,
Tha bun de shiabun geal agam,
'S mo lèine salach, grannda.

Dè ni mi gun lèine ghlan,
Gun lèine gheal, gun lèine ghlan,
Dè ni mi gun lèine ghlan,
'S mi 'falbh an taigh' a-màireach.

traditional Gaelic song

Translation

I have a wife, I have a house
There's a stream by the end of my house
I have a lump of white soap
And my shirt is really dirty!

What will I do for a clean shirt,
For a clean, white shirt?
What will I do for a clean shirt
When I want to go out tomorrow?

Canasg editors

Full pronunciation guide provided

Price per copy £1.00 ($1.50)

Note: This price is for the first 20 licensed copies of the song, further copies cost only 25% of this price.

Companion pieces

Browse the Scots and Gaelic section of the Canasg catalogue for more songs like this one. To go there now, click on the 'catalogue' box to the right.

Canasg Music