Joyeuse fête nationale de l’Acadie! Happy National Acadian Day!  Je partage aujourd’hui un nouvel enregistrement.. la chanson Bon Garçon! C’est une chanson traditionnelle que j’ai apprise du chanteur feu Peter Chiasson. Il faut écouter jusqu’à la fin pour entendre sa voix! On peut lire tous les crédits et l’histoire de la chanson ici! Dites-moi ce que vous en pensez! Today I share a new recording – the song Bon Garçon! It’s a traditional song that I learned from a tape at the Nova Scotia Archives. The singer on the archival tape, Peter Chiasson, was the inspiration for this recording. Listen until the end so you can hear his voice! Credits and the story behind the song are here. Let me know what you think! Tout mon amour du coeur de l’Acadie,  Mary Beth Carty New Gaelic Single Release Mo Mhathair Friday May 7, 2021 By Neil MacLean aka Niall MacIllEathain aka The Govan Bard (1895 – 1962)

Story behind the Song Mo Mhathair (My Mother, pronounced “Mo Vaaaaair”) is a Scottish Gaelic song written in the 1920s by Neil MacLean, also known as the Govan Bard. This timely release marks both Gaelic Awareness Month in Nova Scotia as well as Mother’s Day. Mo Mhathair is the first single on my upcoming album, Crossing the Causeway, set for release on October 1st, 2021. The cover art that accompanies this single was inspired by a photograph taken circa. 1920 of my great-grandmother, Sarah MacDonald. Born in Fairmont, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Scottish Gaelic was her first language. She was known as a healer, and I hope to channel a bit of her healing energy in my recording of this song. The melody is a popular slow air among musicians in Cape Breton and was included on The Cape Breton Festival of Fiddlers Glendale ‘77 Live LP. I learned to sing this song by listening to Callum Kennedy on repeat. I am grateful for the help tutoring offered by retired Gaelic professor and friend Catriona Parsons. She was my next door neighbor in the early ‘90s as well as my first gaelic language and song teacher. Neil MacLean, aka. Niall MacIllEathain, aka. Bàrd Bhaile Ghobhainn, grew up in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull in Scotland, then immigrated to Govan, a suburb of Glasgow, where he lived most of his days. Orain is Dain is a book of songs and poems composed in his native Scottish Gaelic. The book does not include a publishing date. This song includes themes of immigration. It starts off with the line, “Send my greetings across the seas.” As I sing Mo Mhathair, I think of my own immigrant ancestors, immigrants in my community today, and the world as a history of migration. In spite of the distances, we can still maintain cultural traditions, even halfway around the world, through centuries of time. I would like to dedicate this song to all mothers as well as all those who have lost, live far away from, or have a complicated relationship with their mothers. The single is available on Mary Beth’s bandcamp! Arranged by Mary Beth Carty SOCAN/BMI Credits Mary Beth Carty – Vocals, Accordion, Guitar, Colin Grant – Violin, Mac Morin – Piano, Robyn Carrigan – Harmony Vocals, John Pellerin – Violin, Anna Ludlow – Violin, Chrissy Crowley – Violin, Joe MacMaster – Violin, Bradley Murphy – Violin, Piano recorded at Lakewind Sound Studios by Mike Shepherd, Recorded, mixed, & mastered at Soundpark Studios by Jaime Foulds, Additional recording by Mary Beth Carty, Robyn Carrigan, and Colin Grant in home studios, Cover art by Mary Beth Carty, Produced by Mary Beth Carty, Gaelic language coaching by Catriona Parsons © & ℗  Mary Beth Carty / 902 872 1792  / maryelizabethcarty@gmail.com