The traditional Manx tune, Ushag Veg Ruy (Little Red Bird), performed at the home of Mona Douglas RBV in 1974.
This song in Manx Gaelic tells of the fortunes of a little red bird seeking refuge for the night.
This is a popular song, most often met in this lullaby form although also collected as a skipping tune. Versions of it can be found in all of the Celtic Nations of the British Isles.
This is a part of a unique recording from 1974 of Manx music and song, made at the home of Mona Douglas, one of the most important figures in the revival of Manx culture in the 20th Century.
It was recorded by Barone Nikolai Giovanelli and it is the only known recording of such a gathering and so it forms an highly important record of this period of the Manx cultural revival.
This recording was made in order to be sent to a Dutch journalist, Wieky Beens. It is entirely thanks to her diligence and kindness that the recording has been preserved and made publicly available now, 45 years after it was made.
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from
The Mona Douglas Manx Ceili (1974),
released July 12, 2019
Recording by Barone Nikolai Giovannelli, at the home of Mona Douglas RBV, 1974.
Preserved and released thanks to Wieky Beens.