Thursday 25 March 2010
Tune of the Day: Come by the Hills
Traditional Irish slow air
The origin of the slow air “Buachaill ón Éirne” (which in Irish Gaelic means “Boy From the Erne River”) is quite disputed. Some say this song was written in the early 1800s by Robert Tanahill of Paisley, Scotland. However, the use of the word “buachaill” as “young man” in Irish Gaelic suggests that this song may be Irish in origin, since in Scottish Gaelic the word means “shepherd”.
The melody was used for the song “Come by the Hills” by Scottish journalist and television producer W. Gordon Smith in the 1960s.