Three Sheets to Kishkiyya · Track 18 · middle
Ar Meisce
VOLUME I — being gloriously, world-tilting DRUNK (the night at full tilt). The idiom and the song's title hook: "Ar Meisce". Its true history: Ireland (Irish Gaelic) — literally 'on/in drunkenness'; the classic Irish expression for being drunk. Render this beat of the night as the band's affectionate, funny, celebratory tribute — the idiom itself is the chorus hook.
Lyrics
[Intro] The English say you're smashed or you are broken An adjective you staple to your chest [Verse 1] But I prefer the secret softly spoken When the golden hour is leaning to the west I love the grammar of the western island They never let the damage leave a mark You take a little boat away from dry land And drift into the glowing of the dark [Chorus] Ar meisce, ar meisce We aren't dizzy and we are not blind We are *on* the drunkenness, a country we just found Leaving all the heavy nouns behind Ar meisce, a shifting patch of ground [Verse 2] In Irish, you're not drunk, you are just visiting A preposition pulling you away "Ar" means on, a tiny island glinting In the middle of a very blurry bay I watch you tilt your glass and pay the ferry fare The syntax of the evening shifting shape It isn't in your blood, it is a territory A prepositional and warm escape [Chorus] Ar meisce, ar meisce We aren't dizzy and we are not blind We are *on* the drunkenness, a country we just found Leaving all the heavy nouns behind Ar meisce, a shifting patch of ground [Bridge] It's a location, not a failing of the spirit A latitude you measure by the glass I hear the border crossing, yeah I hear it Watching all the sober borders pass [Outro] We're just tourists here On the drunkenness Ar meisce Passports stamped in foam We'll leave tomorrow, but tonight... We're just standing on the island.