Little by Little Beag air Bheag

’S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi

This is a lovely wee song which lists all the things that the singer saw on a trip through the night. This is a popular type of Gaelic song called Puirt à Beul, meaning ‘a tune from the mouth’ or ‘mouth music’. This type of song is often light-hearted, occasionally bawdy, in nature. This version is sung by Josie Duncan.
Watch the video the learn the song line-by-line. This video was originally filmed for LearnGaelic’s popular social media strand ‘Learn a Gaelic song’ and the format is slightly different.

We’ll start with learning the first line of A-part. To make life easy, Josie has broken this down into two sentences.

'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi

I’ve seen many things

's iomadh rud a rinn mi

I’ve done many things

Now we have learnt what the words mean. Why don’t we learn how to sing the line?

'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi, 's iomadh rud a rinn mi

I’ve seen many things, I’ve done many things

The final phrase of the A-part is really simple to learn and gives you insight into what the singer was up to!

a-muigh air feadh na h-oidhche

out all night

The final lines of the A-part are:

'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi a-muigh air feadh na h-oidhche

I’ve seen many things, out all night

Are you feeling confident? Let’s put all the lines together and start to work on the complete A-part:

'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi, 's iomadh rud a rinn mi,
'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi a-muigh air feadh na h-oidhche,

I’ve seen many things, I’ve done many things,

I’ve seen many things, out all night,

Let's repeat the full A-part

'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi, 's iomadh rud a rinn mi,
'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi a-muigh air feadh na h-oidhche,
'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi, 's iomadh rud a rinn mi,
'S iomadh rud a chunna’ mi a-muigh air feadh na h-oidhche.

I’ve seen many things, I’ve done many things,

I’ve seen many things, out all night,

I’ve seen many things, I’ve done many things,

I’ve seen many things, out all night

How are you getting on? Let’s learn the first B-part:

Chunna’ mi na piseagan, na piseagan, na piseagan

I saw the kittens, the kittens, the kittens

Let’s sing the line:

Chunna’ mi na piseagan, na piseagan, na piseagan

I saw the kittens, the kittens, the kittens

The second line is

Chunna’ mi na piseagan air spiris Mac an t-Saighdeir

I saw the kittens on the Soldier’s son’s roost

Let’s put the second line to the music!

Chunna’ mi na piseagan air spiris Mac an t-Saighdeir

I saw the kittens on the Soldier’s son’s roost

Let’s learn the first B-part together:

Chunna’ mi na piseagan, na piseagan, na piseagan,
Chunna’ mi na piseagan air spiris Mac an t-Saighdeir

I saw the kittens, the kittens, the kittens,

I saw the kittens on the Soldier’s son’s roost

Remember that this B-part is sung twice!

Chunna’ mi na piseagan, na piseagan, na piseagan,
Chunna’ mi na piseagan air spiris Mac an t-Saighdeir
Chunna’ mi na piseagan, na piseagan, na piseagan
Chunna’ mi na piseagan air spiris Mac an t-Saighdeir

I saw the kittens, the kittens, the kittens,

I saw the kittens on the Soldier’s son’s roost

I saw the kittens, the kittens, the kittens,

I saw the kittens on the Soldier’s son’s roost

How are you getting on? Let’s learn the second B-part, let’s look at the first line:

Chunna’ mi na cudaigean, na cudaigean, na cudaigean

I saw the cuddies, the cuddies, the cuddies

A cuddy generally refers to a coalfish or a saithe.

How does that sound when sung? Let’s find out.

Chunna’ mi na cudaigean, na cudaigean, na cudaigean

I saw the cuddies, the cuddies, the cuddies

The second B-part continues continues:

Chunna’ mi na cudaigean a' cluich air Allt na Muilne

I saw the the cuddies play on the Allt na Muilne river

Allt na Muilne literally translates as River of the Mill

Let’s sing it!

Chunna’ mi na cudaigean a' cluich air Allt na Muilne

I saw the the cuddies play on the Allt na Muilne river

Now we’re comfortable, let’s put the two lines together:

Chunna’ mi na cudaigean, na cudaigean, na cudaigean
Chunna’ mi na cudaigean a' cluich air Allt na Muilne

I saw the cuddies, the cuddies, the cuddies

I saw the the cuddies play on the Allt na Muilne river

Remember that this B-part is sung twice!

Chunna’ mi na cudaigean, na cudaigean, na cudaigean
Chunna’ mi na cudaigean a' cluich air Allt na Muilne
Chunna’ mi na cudaigean, na cudaigean, na cudaigean
Chunna’ mi na cudaigean a' cluich air Allt na Muilne

I saw the cuddies, the cuddies, the cuddies

I saw the the cuddies play on the Allt na Muilne river

I saw the cuddies, the cuddies, the cuddies

I saw the the cuddies play on the Allt na Muilne river