Bend forward from your clouds, ghosts of my fathers! bend. Lay by the red terror of your course. Receive the falling chief; whether he comes from a distant land, or rises from the rolling sea. Let his robe of mist be near; his spear that is formed of a cloud. Place an half-extinguished meteor by his side, in the form of the hero's sword. And, oh! let his countenance be lovely, that his friends may delight in his presence. Bend from your clouds, ghosts of my fathers! bend!
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Confirmed with The Poems of Ossian. Translated by James Macpherson, Esq; Vol.I. A new edition, carefully corrected, and greatly improved. London, MDCCLXXIII, page 370.
Text Authorship:
- by James Macpherson (pretending to translate "Ossian") (1736 - 1796), no title, from Dar-Thula [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Edmund von Harold, Baron (1737 - 1808) , no title ; composed by Franz Peter Schubert.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 88
Beugt euch aus [euern]1 Wolken nieder, ihr Geister meiner Väter, [beugt]2 euch, legt ab das rothe Schrecken eures Laufs. Empfangt den fallenden Führer! Er komme aus einem entfernten Land, oder [steig]3 aus dem tobenden Meer! Sein Kleid von Nebel sey nah, sein Speer aus einer Wolke gestaltet. [Stell ein halb erloschenes Luftbild an seine Seite, in Gestalt des Helden-Schwerts.]4 Und ach sein Gesicht sey lieblich, Daß seine Freunde frolocken in seiner Gegenwart! [Beugt]5 euch aus [euern]1 Wolken nieder! ihr Geister meiner Väter, [beugt]2 euch.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Die Gedichte Ossians, eines alten celtischen Helden und Barden. Zweyter Band. Zweyte verbesserte und mit neu entdeckten Gedichten vermehrte Auflage. Mannheim 1782, im Verlage der Herausgeber der ausländischen schönen Geister, pages 241-242.
1 Schubert: "euren"2 Schubert: "beuget"
3 Schubert: "er steig"
4 Schubert: "Sein Schwert ein erlosch'nes Luftbild,"
5 Schubert: "O beugt"
Text Authorship:
- by Edmund von Harold, Baron (1737 - 1808), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by James Macpherson (pretending to translate "Ossian") (1736 - 1796), no title, from Dar-Thula
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Ossians Lied nach dem Falle Nathos", D 278 (1815), published 1830 [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , subtitle: "Cant d’Ossian després de la caiguda de Nathos", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Ossians lied na de dood van Nathos", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 84