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Runrig's song "Fichead Bliadhna", too, but that's more kind of a protest song: Ruith sa mhonadh, ruith nam beann ’S mar sin dhan sgoil aig deireadh samhraidh

Runrig's song "Fichead Bliadhna", too, but that's more kind of a protest song: Ruith sa mhonadh, ruith nam beann ’S mar sin dhan sgoil aig deireadh samhraidh Nar clann aig còig bliadhna dh’aois ’S gun facal Beurla nar ceann translated: Freedom of the moor, freedom of the hills (Ruith is literally "running" though) And off to school at summer's end As children of five years old And not a word of English in our heads Particularly resonant with me as my 6-year-old cycles off to school for the second month of Primary 2. Quite a wrench to have to deal with sitting still and listening to the teacher when it's 20° outside and sunny and there are bikes and toy cars and mud and sticks. At least some twenty years later by the late 70s when I was that age they actually were teaching Gaelic in schools again instead of literally beating it out of people, and now my son is in a Gaelic-medium class in school making it one of the three languages he speaks.

nephihaha 7d ago
Run of the moors, run of the hills And like that to school at summer's end Us being children of five years of age Without a word of English in our heads That's my literal translation anyway. I was talking to an American yesterday who couldn't understand the concept of the Highlands yesterday. His whole idea was of a place presented magically but with little more than funny accents in it. I tried to get over to him all the history of suppression, eviction, lack of economic development etc... but the big one is cultural. If the Highlands lose their culture (and they already have largely) then they are indistinguishable from anywhere else.
- ErroneousBosh 6d ago
  I mean make him read Hallaig by Somhairle MacGill-eain. And, ideally, go and visit a cleared township. https://maps.app.goo.gl/nc8uhBogrBCjgjYs9 https://maps.app.goo.gl/nc8uhBogrBCjgjYs9 I used to walk out there most weekends when I was at school. Until about 175 years ago, those were homes. Families lived there. The white dots you see are sheep, which is of course why families don't live there now. Good Gaelic, incidentally, where did you speak it?

nephihaha 7d ago

Run of the moors, run of the hills And like that to school at summer's end Us being children of five years of age Without a word of English in our heads That's my literal translation anyway. I was talking to an American yesterday who couldn't understand the concept of the Highlands yesterday. His whole idea was of a place presented magically but with little more than funny accents in it. I tried to get over to him all the history of suppression, eviction, lack of economic development etc... but the big one is cultural. If the Highlands lose their culture (and they already have largely) then they are indistinguishable from anywhere else.

ErroneousBosh 6d ago
I mean make him read Hallaig by Somhairle MacGill-eain. And, ideally, go and visit a cleared township. https://maps.app.goo.gl/nc8uhBogrBCjgjYs9 https://maps.app.goo.gl/nc8uhBogrBCjgjYs9 I used to walk out there most weekends when I was at school. Until about 175 years ago, those were homes. Families lived there. The white dots you see are sheep, which is of course why families don't live there now. Good Gaelic, incidentally, where did you speak it?