Mna'na h-Eireann'

I'm guessing it's post Red Shoes cuz until then I was snobby enough to think I knew EVERYTHING about Kate. Many of you have proven that wrong Anyway, I never heard this song, which makes me think it's more recent. How can I hear it? Any suggestions for someone who's computer speakers don't work?

I have this song on a Japanese only compilation entitled 'Respirar'.
The track listing of which is:

Adiemus/Cantus Inaequalis

Michael Nyman/The heart asks pleasure first-the promise

Origa(Some title printed in Russian)

Kate Bush/Mna na H-Eireann

Naimee Coleman/Hold Tight

Madredeus/Viagens Interditas

Ala dos Namorados/Ao Sul

Mstislav Rostropovich/Cello-Suiten suite no.1-Prelude

Vanessa Mae/I'm a Doun for Lack O'Johnnie(A Little Scottish Fantasy)

Criara/Your Voice is the Wind

Enigma/The Cross of Changes

Ryuichi Sakamoto/The Sheltering Sky-Theme(Piano version)

Sacred Spirit/Dawa

Donal Lunny & Maire Breatnach/Mystic Slip Jigs

Sinead O'Connor/On Raglan Road

Susan Aglukark/Pond Inlet

Adiemus/Hymn


This was released in 1997.

Kate Bush - Gaelic Song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpMGWOAAKs4
From the album 'Common Ground: Voices Of Modern Irish Music' (1996)

At one memorable concert, in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre in March 1969, Ó Riada produced a new piece, a song entitled Mná na hÉireann (pronounced mnaw na hair-inn; Women of Ireland). The music composed by Ó Riada was to accompany an eighteenth century poem by Peadar Ó Doirnín, whose bicentenary was the occasion for the concert.

Mná na hÉireann

Tá bean in Éirinn a phronnfadh séad damh is mo sháith le n-ól
Is tá bean in Éirinn is ba binne léithe mo rafla ceoil
No seinm théid; atá bean in Éirinn is níorbh fhearr léi beo
Mise ag léimnigh no leagtha i gcré is mo tharr faoi fhód.

Tá bean in Éirinn a bheadh ag éad liom mur bhfaighinn ach póg
O bhean ar aonach, nach ait an scéala, is mo dhaimh féin leo;
Tá bean ab fhearr liom no cath is céad dhíobh nach bhfagham go deo
Is tá cailín spéiriúil ag fear gan Bhearla, dubhghránna cróin

Tá bean a dearfadh da siúlainn léithe go bhfaighinn an t-ór
Is tá bean 'na léine is fearr a méin no na tainte bó
Le bean a bhuairfeadh Baile an Mhaoir agus clar Thir Eoghann,
Is ní fhaicim leigheas ar mo ghalar féin ach scaird a dh'ól

Women Of Ireland

There's a woman in Ireland who'd give me shelter and my fill of ale
There's a woman in Ireland who'd prefer my singing to strings being played
There's a woman in Ireland who'd prefer me leaping than laid in the clay
and my belly under the sod

There's a woman in Ireland who'd envy me if I got naught but a kiss
from a woman at a fair , isn't it strange, and the love I have for them
There's a woman I'd prefer more to a battalion,
and a hundred of them I will never get
And an ugly, swarthy man with no English has a beautiful girl

There's a woman who would say that if I walked with her I'd get the gold
A woman in night dress whose mein is better than herds of cows
With a woman who would deafen Ballymoyer and the plain of Tyrone
And I see no cure for my disease but to give up the drink


"A Wonderful Woman" - Kate Records Mná na hÉireann

"...that cloud looks like Ireland...c'mon and blow it a kiss now..."

1995 found Kate taking a year off from work. At that time Kate was approached by Donal Lunny to take part in an album of Irish music and to record a song with Irish lyrics, Mná na hÉireann. In a May 1996 interview with Donal in the Irish music paper Hot Press, the writer Liam Fay comments that; "for Lunny, the agreement of Kate Bush, with whom he had laboured before (most notably on her Hounds Of Love album), to come aboard was crucial to the realisation of the whole undertaking". In the interview Donal recalls how Kate got involved;

"Kate had, via Bill Whelan, assembled a group of Irish musicians to play on a number of her albums. I know Bill developed a close friendship with her which is more than I've had time or opportunity to do. But Kate and I did have a couple of very nice phonecalls since we last worked together. When I rang her up about this, her interest was immediate. That was very gratifying. She had taken a year off from work of any kind and this was bang in the middle of it. She opened herself to several weeks work by taking it on, maybe more than she bargained for. I knew she'd be good and she didn't give up until it was right. She's a real joy to work with. She is exceptionally considerate and thoughtful with people. Add to that how much she cares about what she does and the fact that she will not do something unless she feels she can give of her best. Hats off. She's a wonderful woman... She was very excited with the idea of singing the Irish in a way that Irish speakers would understand, and of conveying the meaning of the song through the sounds of the words. I helped as much as I could. She had Seán Ó Sé's recording of Mná na hÉireann as reference. She was as faithful to the pronunciations as she could possibly be. It was with characteristic care and attention that she approached it. She did not stint one bit. Of course you'll get people saying, `Oh, you'd know she doesn't talk Irish straight off'. You wouldn't know it straight off. I would defend her efforts as being totally sincere. No matter how perfect she gets it, she's not an Irish speaker. This may rankle with some people."

Kate commented in the December 1995 Kate Bush Club mailout: "It was fun and very challenging .....I will eagerly await comments from all Irish-speaking listeners in particular. I'm sure Ma gave me a helping hand!" (Hannah Bush (née Daly) came originally from Co. Waterford in Ireland.)

from "A Wonderful Woman" - Kate Records Mná na hÉireann
www.katebushnews.com/mna.htm