Arranger's note

This is a lively piece of Gaelic puirt-a-beul ('poorsht-a-beel') or mouth music – the name for songs written to accompany dancing. It's in the voice of a young man who wants to escape one way or another - either through alcohol or through marriage. A suggested performance scheme is to sing it three times (piano, mezzo forte, forte). You could also experiment with bringing in different voices at different times (e.g. sopranos only v.1, sop and alto v.2, tutti v.3).

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. Na'm biodh trì sgillinn agam works well as the second song in the following set of three: Bodachan ar-i-ar-o; Na'm biodh trì sgillinn agam; Hé mandu (all published by Canasg).

A recording by Rudsambee company of singers is available on their album bottled at source (RUBEECD003).