Tri Martolod
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"Tri Martolod" ("Three sailors" in Breton), or "Tri Martolod Yaouank" ("Three young sailors"), is a traditional Breton song which dates to the 18th century in lower Brittany (a region of northwestern France). It was popularized in the 1970s by Breton harpist Alan Stivell.[1]
The Longest Johns' version was released as track 3 on the Santiano (EP) and as track 18 on the French version of Between Wind and Water in 2021.
Factoids
The Breton language, despite being spoken in a region of France, is not related to French at all; rather, it is a Celtic language, most closely related to Cornish. It was brought to the region by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages, and is the only Celtic language still in use on the European mainland.
Breton is currently classified by UNESCO as a "severely endangered" language, with only around 220,000 native speakers, although efforts are underway to increase Breton and bilingual education opportunities, and those numbers are slowly increasing.
Lyrics
Lyrics and translation sourced from Wikipedia and edited to match the official recording.
Original
Tri martolod yaouank, la la la la la la la
Tri martolod yaouank i vonet da veajiñ
Tri martolod yaouank, la la la la la la la
Tri martolod yaouank i vonet da veajiñ
E vonet da veajiñ, gê!
E vonet da veajiñ
Gant 'n avel bet kaset, la la la la la la la
Gant 'n avel bet kaset beteg an Douar Nevez
Gant 'n avel bet kaset, la la la la la la la
Gant 'n avel bet kaset beteg an Douar Nevez
Beteg an Douar Nevez, gê!
Beteg an Douar Nevez
E-kichen mein ar veilh, la la la la la la la
E-kichen mein ar veilh o deus mouilhet o eorioù
E-kichen mein ar veilh, la la la la la la la
E-kichen mein ar veilh o deus mouilhet o eorioù
O deus mouilhet o eorioù, gê!
O deus mouilhet o eorioù
Hag e-barzh ar veilh-se, la la la la la la la
Hag e-barzh ar veilh-se e oa ur servijourez
Hag e-barzh ar veilh-se, la la la la la la la
Hag e-barzh ar veilh-se e oa ur servijourez
Pelec'h on-oa konesañ, gê!
Pelec'h on-oa konesañs
En Naoned er marc'had, la la la la la la la
En Naoned er marc'had on-oa choajet ur walenn
En Naoned er marc'had, la la la la la la la
En Naoned er marc'had on-oa choajet ur walenn
English Translation
Three young sailors, la la la la la la la
Three young sailors went traveling
Three young sailors, la la la la la la la
Three young sailors went traveling
Went traveling!
Went traveling
And the wind pushed them, la la la la la la la
The wind pushed them to Newfoundland
And the wind pushed them, la la la la la la la
The wind pushed them to Newfoundland
All the way to Newfoundland!
All the way to Newfoundland
Next to the windmill stone, la la la la la la la
Next to the windmill stone, they dropped anchor
Next to the windmill stone, la la la la la la la
Next to the windmill stone, they dropped anchor
They dropped anchor!
They dropped anchor
And in that windmill, la la la la la la la
And in that windmill was a servant girl
And in that windmill, la la la la la la la
And in that windmill was a servant girl
Where have we met before
Where have we met before
In Nantes at the market, la la la la la la la
In Nantes at the market, we chose a ring
In Nantes at the market, la la la la la la la
In Nantes at the market, we chose a ring