Play Gaelic

Play Gaelic
Studio album by Runrig
Released	1978
Genre	Celtic rock
Length	48:29
Label	Neptune
Producer	Black Gold Record Productions
Runrig chronology
Play Gaelic (1978) The Highland Connection (1979)

Play Gaelic is the first album by the Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig. It was released in 1978 on LP and tape by Neptune Records. In 1990 it was re-released on CD by Lismore Recordings with different cover art.

Album Style

The band's sound on the album is half way between traditional ceilidh music and pastoral folk as opposed to the harder rock edge which would characterise the next album The Highland Connection. Several of the songs are now part of the Gaelic songbook, "Tillidh Mi" is a fixture at Feisean, "Cum 'ur n'Aire" is a favourite at the Royal National Mòd and "Chì Mi'n Geamhradh" has acted as a Cathy Anne MacPhee album title as well as being re-interpreted by Niteworks, an electronica band from Skye in 2011.

The album, and the song 'Dùisg Mo Rùn', were featured in the second episode of Can Seo, a programme for Gaelic learners that started on BBC One Scotland in 1979.

Track listing

1. "Dùisg Mo Rùn" (Wake up My Love) – 3:50
2. "Sguaban Arbhair" (The Sheaves of Corn) – 4:12
3. "Tillidh Mi" (I Will Return) – 3:40
4. "Criogal Cridhe" (Beloved Gregor) – 4:44
5. "Nach Neònach Neisd A Tha E" (Isn't It Strange Now) – 4:06
6. "Sunndach" (Joyous) – 3:54
7. "Air an Tràigh" (On the Strand) – 2:49
8. "Dè Nì Mi / Puirt" (What Will I Do / Tunes) – 2:56
9. "An Ròs" (The Rose) – 4:04
10. "Ceòl an Dannsa" (Dancing Music) – 2:42
    • The Brolum
    • Irish Reel
    • Reel of Tulloch
11. "Chì Mi'n Geamhradh" (I See the Winter) – 5:22
12. "Cum 'ur n'Aire" (Keep in Mind) – 6:15

Liner notes

1. Exit Glasgow. A blue train to Balloch and hitch-hike up the West Coast. A song from student days.
2. An old photograph and memories of a past life-style.
3. There are few people who leave the islands, who do not want to return.
4. Written by the wife of the Chief of the Clan MacGregor in 1571 after her husband's death by execution. The song is written as a lament but was also sung as a lullaby to her child.
5. Often it's people that make places and when someone special is not around anymore the place never quite seems to be the same.
6. Early morning - summer in Portree.
7. A look back to life as a boy in North Uist.
8. What will I do if I lose my horse? A humorous Puirt-a-Buel from North Uist.
9. Love is like a rose - beautiful, but there are thorns.
10. Friday night and the lights are on in the Village Hall. (a) The Brolum (b) Irish Reel (c) Reel of Tulloch.
11. The summer has passed, a romance has ended and the island winter holds little comfort.
12. Never lose sight of your culture and identity - this song probably sums up the whole point of the album.

Personnel

• Calum Macdonald: drums, percussion
• Robert Macdonald: accordion
• Rory Macdonald: vocals, guitars
• Donnie Munro: lead vocals, twelve-string guitar