‘S E ‘m Bàth aig Matà As Fhearr
(Mattie’s Store is the Best)
Angus Y MacLellan, who kept the lighthouse on Margaree Island near Inverness, Nova Scotia, wrote this song in Gaelic, in honor of his friend, Matthew Ferguson. Mattie for decades ran a store in Inverness.
Seisd:
I hiuraibh o, i hiuraibh o
Tiugainn mar so ma thu connradh bhuat
I hiuraibh o, i hiuraibh o
‘S e’m bàth aig Matà a fhearr.
Chorus:
I hiuraibh o, i hiuraibh o
Come along if there’s anything you need
I hiuraibh o, i hiuraibh o
Mattie’s store is the best.
‘S e Matà fear gnothuich as ciataiche
Tha ‘n diugh an taobh stigh de na criochan so
‘N a sheasamh mu d’choinneamh ‘g a d’riarachadh
Chan iarr e obair as fhearr.
Matthew is the most elegant businessman
Who dwells today in these parts
Standing in front of you, satisfying your needs,
He could not ask for more congenial work.
Ma tha cupa no bruis agus siabunn bhuat
No na bhios ad dhith thoirt na fiasaig’ dhiot;
No cungaidh a dh’uraicheas d’fhiacalan
‘S e’m buth aig Matà a fhearr.
If you need a cup, or brush, or soap,
Or whatever you need to shave your beard
Or medicine that will freshen your teeth,
Mattie’s store is the best.
Ma bhios tu a’sgriobhadh gu nigheanagan
‘S ag innse do ghaoil dhaibh an diomhaireachd;
Biodh agad am paipear as finealta
As a’bhuth aig Matà a fhearr.
If you’re writing to young girls
And you wish to divulge your love for them
Get yourself the most elegant notepaper
From Mattie’s store—it’s the best.
O chaileag ma’s math leat gach suil bhi ort
‘S na gillean air mhire ‘g a d’ionnsaigh-sa;
Dean cabhag is ceannaich am fudar-a
Tha ’s a’bhuth aig Matà a fhearr.
O young girl, if you want to attract every eye,
And have young men in a frenzy to approach you
Make haste and buy the powder
In Mattie’s store—it’s the best.
Gun tuit iad cho grad ’s ged a bhuiailteadh iad
Nuair chi iad cho grinn ’s a than’n snuadh bhios ort;
Ma chuireas tu pairt air do ghruiadheanan
‘S e an rouge aig Matà a fhearr.
They drop down as if they’d been struck
When they see how enticing your skin is
If you apply some to your cheeks:
Mattie’s rouge is the best.
Ma leagair le cnatan no fiabhras thu
‘S tu fulang mar dhuine ‘g a riaslachadh:
Gu deimhinn aig Matu tha iocshlaint dhuit
Dean fhiachainn ’s bidh tu na’s fhearr.
If you are laid low by cold or fever
And suffering like a man being mangled
Truly, Mattie has a cure for you
Try it, and you’ll feel better.
Ma bhuailear gu grad leis an deideadh thu
‘S do chlaigeann a’ dol as a cheile leis:
A bhurraidh, na fulang is leagheas ann
‘S e’m bàth aig Matà a fhearr.
If you’re suddenly struck by toothache
And your head is splitting because of it
You clown, don’t suffer when there’s a cure:
Mattie’s store is the best.
Tiugainnibh, tiugainnibh, ‘n ar ciadan sibh
Is sgiathaibh cho luath ris na riabhagan leam:
Tha baile is baile, ’s gach bial a’glaodh,
‘S e’m bàth aig Matà a fhearr!
Come along, come along in your hundreds
And fly with me, as swiftly as the larks.
Every town and village, every mouth is shouting:
Mattie’s store is the best!
From An Innis Aigh (”The Happy Island”)
by Duncan Hugh MacLellan
Characters • Ferguson, Mattie • Stories • Storytellers • told by Angus MacLellan | Dave Ferguson February 9, 2006
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By Dave Ferguson, March 10, 2006 @ 8:16 am
Comments from my parents, Greet Macdonald and Hughie Ferguson, about Angus Y:
Greet: There was a girl who used to come down from somewhere up the valley. She wanted to learn Gaelic, and she’d go out to Margaree Island, with Angus Y, to learn Gaelic, and Poppa [Jack D Macdonald] used to go out with her to help her.
…All that family [Angus Y's] spoke Gaelic.
Hughie: Angus Y’s son Jimmie, one hell of a nice guy. You couldn’t meet anybody any nicer. We were down at Owen Dan Gillis’s one time. And Jimmie was sitting there, smoking a cigarette. And if there’d be a little bit of ash, he’d be wiping it away.
Owen Dan came around, and he [Jimmie] was sitting near Owen Dan’s wife. Owen Dan came down to see if they wanted a drink or anything. And Jimmie said, “Owen, you don’t mind if I’m sitting alongside of your wife?” And he said, “No — if you can carry her, you can have her.”
And she was pretty husky then.