by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Strathallan's lament
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
Thickest night surround my dwelling! Howling tempests o'er me rave! Turbid torrents, wintry swelling, Roaring by my lonely cave. Chrystal streamlets gently flowing, Busy haunts of base mankind, Western breezes softly blowing, Suit not my distracted mind. In the cause of right engaged, Wrongs injurious to redress, Honour's war we strongly waged, But the Heavens deny'd success. Ruin's wheel has driven o'er us : Not a hope that dare attend, The wide world is all before us, But a world without a friend.
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 205.
Note: Viscount Strathallan was killed in the Battle of CullodenAuthorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Strathallan's lament" [author's text checked 1 time 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):
- by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Strathallan's lament", JHW. XXXII/3 no. 221, Hob. XXXIa no. 145bis [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "La lamentation de Strathallan", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-02
Line count: 16
Word count: 83