My Theory of Celtic Music

You’d never suspect an American

of German descent as the origin

of a theory of Celtic music modes.

But I hear a lot while traveling the roads.

Type One Celtic tunes seem the most frequent.

Siúil A Rún is one song of this accent:

“Woe unto us, the day’s whole duration,

for our lives are filled with tribulation.”

Type Two overcomes the pain, dries the tears.

Dúlamán, for example, eases fears

of starvation. “Despite tribulation,

we Celts yet remain a happy nation.”

Type Three is more rare: The Celts go to war.

Amhrán na bhFiann says they’ll take it no more.

“Enough of your bloody tribulation:

Now, we’re here to return the donation!”

But is there Type Four? I hear one more tone.

Be Thou My Vision and In Christ Alone

both proclaim an end to tribulation,

celebrate God’s eternal salvation!

These themes exist, alone or together,

in music I’ve heard. I don’t know whether

there is value in this odd paradigm,

but I like all four types, just any time.

Copyright ©2018, Paul H. Harder II

This poem is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 License.

A good search engine will let you hear the Gaelic songs and see their English translations.

Pronunciation Guide:

• Siúil A Rún: “shool ah roon”
• Dúlamán: “doo la mahn”
• Amhrán na bhFiann: “aw-rawn na veen”