Newsgroups: uk.music.folk
Subject: Re: Q: Gaughan, Lough Erne
From: Dick Gaughan <dickg (@) dickalba.demon.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2000 09:37:20 +0100

In <39f8d93b.26649636 (@) news.alt.net> on Fri, 27 Oct 2000 01:27:27 GMT, sdrichard (@) REMOVEusa.net (Seth) wrote:

Dick Gaughan wrote:
>>As others have pointed out, the chorus is simply a 'nonsense' refrain of meaningless noises, "tan tan na na"

>Thank you... There went all my theories about sublime meaning.

Och, far be it from me to bring disappointment to someone :)

In that case, the chorus is in fact an Indo-Celtic chant of incredible antiquity, packed with historical, theological and cultural significance. It was first discovered on a manuscript in a secret cave on the island of Arran by one James MacPherson who translated it from the most obscure of the Old Irish dialects, a dialect of which he alone was the last living speaker.

The primary references are to the Diety, "Rantan", and his daughter "Nannan", with whom it is alleged he had an incestuous relationship resulting in the birth of the mythological chief Lir, whose name survives in common usage in some dialects of Lowland Scots as the term for someone who takes liberties with veracity.

References to these characters abound in Celtic folklore and songs, surviving into modern times in such classics as Burns' "The Rantan dog, the daddie o't" and "My Nannan's awa". A modest research will reveal thousands such.

Naturally, revisionist English historians have tried to claim that these entities are in fact merely a Celtic appropriation of the names of 9th century Anglic warlords and cite as evidence tunes such as "The Morpeth Rantan" and the shadowy Northumbrian sect known as the "High Level Rantans" but have curiously ignored occasional references in contemporary American culture, such as in the chorus of Joe South's renowned "Games People Play" and the repeated invocations of these names in Appalachian balladry, Rap and the songs of Frank Sinannantra who, in order to hide his ethnic origins, frequently replaced the original Celtic names with the Sicilian equivalents, "Doobee" and "Beedoo".

There are several excellent books on the subject, all unfortunately out of print.

--
DG

Newsgroups: uk.music.folk Subject: Re: Q: Gaughan, Lough Erne From: Dick Gaughan <dickg (@) dickalba.demon.co.uk> Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2000 02:50:27 +0100

In <5008FB98143C0CF6.D4FBC7F232003CE1.D67962A286503CB5 (@) lp.airnews.net> on Thu, 26 Oct 2000 23:52:29 -0500, ellie mcArdle <makaroni (@) airmail.net> wrote:

>Do you happan to know in which year the 'ran-tan' stuff was discoverd within the cave?

1872.

Of course, as MacPherson was totally highland in his sense of time and measured it in Gaelic according to the revised Griannan calendar, it could have been 1863.

Or 1889.

Definitely.

--
DG

Newsgroups: uk.music.folk Subject: Re: Q: Gaughan, Lough Erne From: Dick Gaughan <dickg (@) dickalba.demon.co.uk> Date: Wed, 01 Nov 2000 22:36:59 +0000

In <8tph3q$4h1$1 (@) nnrp1.deja.com> on Wed, 01 Nov 2000 16:41:32 GMT, Primadonna <primadonna_z (@) yahoo.co.uk> confused the hell out of Usenet by replying in the same post without attributions to two entirely distinct messages from different posters:

>More obfuscation, I see!

You need new spectacles, methinks.

>Then who is this (Welsh?) James MacPherson?

Welsh? Ah, yes, that ancient and well-known Welsh tribe, the MacPhersons. From Llanfairpyllgwyn[...]llantisiliogogogoth, weren't they?

>I think we should be told.

You were. See above advice concerning myopia.

>This is interesting, because - as legend has it - the Tuatha de Danann came to Ireland from Greece via North Africa,

Utter hogwash. Every fule kno they came from Ballyfermot via Drumcondra.

On a Number 37 driven by an O'Driscoll with an Ossianic Complex.

I humbly suggest that your knowledge of this subject would be considerably enhanced by a reading of Paidraig Og Ruadh MacTumshaunessy's seminal works, "The Influence of Zen on the Milesian Invasion of Rathmines Road" and "Celtology for Dummies"

("Zen", incidentally, was a dark fermented liquid of high viscosity with a white coating on top invented by Cuchulain to keep away red-haired people.)

--
DG

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