Many people assume I grew up speaking Manx Gaelic, but I started learning when I was 23, as a singer keen to connect deeply with our island’s beautiful language.

This column provides a whistle-stop tour through traditional Manx songs, with a particular focus on those collected in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

At this time, much folk music was collected across the British Isles and Europe, partly out of a general trend for pastoral romanticism and partly due to political reawakening about culture and identity after the Napoleonic Wars.

The column also explores some themes of traditional Manx songs – as well as my frustrations about what wasn’t collected! – and gives a nod to some of the exciting artists on the scene today.

Song is a wonderful, accessible and emotionally deep vehicle for language learning, and it helps us to find out about who and what came before us.

Ga dy vel mee flaaoil nish, cha dynsee mee Gaelg derrey va mee my ven aasit. Syn art shoh, loayrym mychione arraneyn tradishoonagh Gaelgagh. She cooish feer scanshoil ee dou; she arraneyder mee as ghow mee toshiaght dy ynsagh Gaelg tra va mee three bleeaney as feed d’eash. Shynney lhiam arraneyn Gaelgagh, as ren mee laccal toiggal ooilley ny focklyn dy bollagh as ve abyl loayrt Gaelg. Cha nel monney reamys, my ta, myr shen she ‘whirlwind tour’ vees ayn!

Ec jerrey yn nuyoo cheead jeig as toshiaght yn eedoo cheead jeig va palchey dy leih jannoo ard-eailley jeh kiaull as arraneyn y theay veih nyn jeeraghyn oc hene. Ayns Sostyn, va sleih gollrish Ralph Vaughan Williams as George Butterworth goll mygeayrt y cheer, çhymsagh arraneyn as kiaull. Ayns ny laghyn shen va’n Rank as y Ghermaan feer niartal as pooaral, as ren sleih geearree goll back dys reddyn va bentyn rish y çheer – reddyn neu-chramp er aght red beg romansagh, as ersooyl veih stoo noa-emshyragh.

Haghyr yn red cheddin ayns Mannin. Ec jerrey ny nuyoo cheead jeig, hie dooinney enmyssit Juan y Clague mygeayrt y çheer as ny baljyn screeu sheese arraneyn as carryn hooar eh veih sleih. Va daa ghooinney elley enmyssit ny braaraghyn Gill (W. H. Gill, as J.F Gill) as hooar adsyn ram arraneyn as kiaull eddyr 1895 as 1898 agh, ny laghyn shoh, oddagh oo gra dy vel shin smooinaghtyn er sleih gollrish Juan y Clague as A.W Moore hoshiaght, er yn oyr dy ren ad cur magh ram kiaull as arraneyn ayns jurnyl as lioar.

Ren nane jeh my enee, Sophia Morrison, obbyr vie, neesht. Ga dy vel shin smooinaght urree myr yn ven ren screeu “Skeealyn Mooinjer Veggey Vannin” hie Sophia Morrison mygeayrt yn Ellan screeu sheese kiaull.

S’bastagh eh nagh vel recortyssyn ayn veih ny laghyn shen, agh hug Sophia Morrison, as olteynyn elley jeh’n Çheshaght Ghailckagh, eab er jannoo shen. Chionnee ad greieyn recortys ayns 1905, as ren ad goll mygeayrt yn ellan jannoo recortyssyn rish mysh three bleeaney, jannoo ymmyd jeh rollianyn kereagh. Dy meeaighar, va jeeill jeant da ny rollianyn kereagh.

Ta shin foast abyl jeeaghyn er kiaull va screeuit sheese, agh t’eh doillee smooinaghtyn er yn aght ren eh sheeanal! Ymmodee bleeantyn ny s’amney, hie Mona Douglas mygeayrt, as ren ish cosney kiaull neesht.

Va ny braaraghyn Gill feer vie son screeu sheese myn-phointyn ymmydoil gollrish buill raad hooar ad carryn as arraneyn, ny h-enmyn as, dy mennick, eashyn ny h-arraneyderyn as kiaulleyderyn. Ren yn Fer-lhee Juan y Clague screeu sheese ny h-enmyn, agh cha row eh cliaghtey screeu sheese daaytyn. Ta fys ain dy ren eh meeteil rish daa phersoon yeig as feed, as hooar eh kiaull as arraneyn veih sleih va mysh jeih bleeaney as feed, dys sleih va mysh kiare feed blein d’eash.

Ga dy dooyrt Sophia Morrison dy ren ee çhymsagh kiaull as arraneyn veih eeasteyryn, traaueyderyn, as sleih ren baghey cooyl yn eayst, ta fys ain dy ren sleih cummal sy çheer as ayns ny baljyn. T’eh baghtal dy voddagh oo geddyn yn tradishoon ayns ny h-ynnydyn cheerey as baljagh ny neesht.

Ta ny h-arraneyn tradishoonagh Manninagh screeuit mychione ram cooishyn – graih, coayl, y cheayn, y çheer, jough… reddyn ta shin foast toiggal jiu.

T’eh jannoo corree jeem tra ta mee fakin fockleyn son arraneyn as cha nel carryn ayn, as carryn lesh titleyn yindyssagh agh cha nel fockleyn ry-gheddyn! Tra t’ou lhaih ronsaghey screeuit liorish Dr. Fenella Bazin, t’eh jeeaghyn dy row paart dy hymseyderyn cur scansh smoo er yn çhengey ain, as paart elley er yn chiaull, as ny keayrtyn cha dug ad yn jees jeu ry-cheilley.

Chammah’s shen, va’n ellan feer chrauee ec y traa shen, as er lhiam dy nee shen yn oyr nagh vel monney arraneyn trullee as awane ry-gheddyn. Foddee nagh row ad screeuit sheese… agh foddee nagh vel mee jeeaghyn ayns ny buill kiart! Ta mee er chlashtyn dy vel ram arraneyn trullee as awane ayns cheeraghyn elley, as cha nel mee credjal dy row Mannin ny smoo crauee na çheeraghyn elley ec y traa shen!

Ga nagh vel monney recortyssyn ry-gheddyn jeh sleih voish ny laghyn shen goaill arrane, oddagh oo gra dy vel shin abyl ve lhoobagh lesh arraneyn Manninagh. Ta ny tradishoonyn arraneys ayns Nerin as Nalbin feer niartal, agh oddagh oo gra dy vel ny sloo seyrsnys ayns tradishoonyn ro-yeyre.

Ny laghyn shoh, ta possanyn kiaullee ayn gollrish Clash Vooar, Biskee Brisht as arraneyderyn elley – t’ad cur magh arraneyn Gaelgagh ayns aghtyn crootagh, as t’ad jannoo shickyr dy vel yn tradishoon ain ny smoo foshlit.

Tra ta shin gynsaghey arraneyn, ta shin cosney, toiggal as cooinaghtyn tooilley focklyn as grammeydys. Dy beagh shin geaishtagh rish Sage Kinvig, nane jeh ny loayrtyssee dooghyssagh, oddagh shin clashtyn dy row ee abyl cooinaghtyn ram focklyn veih hymnyn as y lheid; she greie yindyssagh arraneyn son bishaghey yn chooinaght ain.

Foddee arraneyn cooney lhien dy hoiggal as dy yannoo kiangley eddyr shinyn as y shennaghys ain as y chengey-hene. Ta arraneyn tradishoonagh feer scanshoil er yn oyr nagh vel monney teksyn elley voish ny shenn laghyn nagh vel crauee.

Tra ta shin goaill arrane as geaishtagh rish arraneyn Gaelgagh ta shin gennaghtyn ny s’niessey da’n Ghaelg. Ta ny h-arraneyn roshtynagh, as lhisagh shin smooinaghtyn er arraneyn Gaelgagh myr aght yindyssagh dy eddyn magh as ve graihagh er y Ghaelg.