園田義明めも。

Siúil A Rúin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si%C3%BAil_A_R%C3%BAin

History

The history of the song is unclear. It was suggested that it refers to the "Wild Geese" of the Glorious Revolution. If it does, however, the original version has probably been lost: All versions of the song have Modern English lyrics, and not a scrap of either Irish or Early Modern English verses survives. It is not uncommon that Irish songs were translated into English, with their chorus surviving in Irish, or being transformed into nonsense words (see Caleno custure me), but in most of these cases, traces of the Irish version survive. It was also observed that the reference to the spinning wheel the girl wants to sell is more suggestive of the 19th than of the 17th century, and it is possible that the song was composed in the 1800s with the conscious intention of styling it after older songs.

Modern performance

Siúil a Rúin is one of the most widely sung songs in the Irish repertoire.

Well known performances are by Clannad from their album Dúlamán and Mary Black on different occasions, e.g. on the BBC's "The Highland Sessions" or with Altan on "Altan Beo - 21 Bliain ag Ceol".

Recordings include Scantily Plaid on their album, "Just Checking In", Édain on "JOYceFUL", Éilís Kennedy on "One Sweet Kiss", Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill on Donal Lunny's Coolfin, Allison Barber on "Traveling Home", Órla Fallon from Celtic Woman on the album of the same name, Lisa Kelly (who was also with Celtic Woman) on "Lisa", Ciúnas on "Celtic Tiger", Aoife Ní Fhearraigh on "If I Told You", Maighréad Ní Dhomhnaill & Iarla Ó Lionáird on "Sult", Anúna on "Invocation" with Lucy Champion, Connie Dover on "The Wishing Well", Akelarre Agrocelta on "La Amenaza Celta" and Nora Butler on "Geantraí".

The song has also been recorded by Kate Price, Lintie, Acabella, Anam, The Irish Group, Caoilte Ó Súilleabháin, Nollaig Casey, Kate Crossan, Carmel Gunning, Sissel Kyrkjebo with the Chieftains, Sarah English, and Bruadar.

Siúil a Rúin is one of the songs in Flatley's Lord of the Dance.

Another song, "Buttermilk Hill", has totally different music, but a few similar lines. "Buttermilk Hill" is also known by one of its lines, "Johnny has gone for a soldier", and more confusingly, Shule Aroon. It contains the phrase "Siúil a Rúin", along sometimes with a reference to a spinning wheel. It has the same theme of departed love. Versions of "Buttermilk Hill" have been performed by The Black Country Three, Dan Gibson, Alisa Jones, Judy Collins, Noah Saterstrom and The Weavers.


Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Has_Gone_for_a_Soldier


Siúil Rúin
(a.k.a. Gone The Rainbow / Buttermilk Hill / Shule-A-Roo)
http://kristinhall.org/songbook/ForeignSongs/SiuilRuin.html

Traditional Irish

I learned this as "Shule-A-Roo", which is clearly an English phonetic spelling of the Irish "Siuíl Ruín"; as are the other words in the chorus. I’ve included the original version I had posted followed by the truer versions as sung by Clannad & Connie Dover. Notice how Americanized the original version, as popularized by Peter, Paul & Mary, is!