by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Avenging and bright
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
Avenging and bright fall the swift sword of Erin On him who the brave sons of Usna betrayed! -- For [every fond eye he hath]1 waken'd a tear in, A drop from his heart-wounds shall weep o'er her blade. By the red cloud which hung over [Conor's]2 dark dwelling, When Ulad's three champions lay sleeping in gore -- By the billows of war, which so often, high swelling, Have wafted these heroes to victory's shore -- We swear to avenge them! -- no joy shall be tasted, The harp shall be silent, the maiden unwed, Our halls shall be mute, and our fields shall lie wasted, Till vengeance be wreak'd on the murderer's head. Yes, monarch! though sweet are our home recollections, Though sweet are [the]3 tears that from tenderness fall; Though sweet are our friendships, our [hopes, our]4 affections, Revenge on a tyrant is sweetest of all!
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Britten: "ev'ry fond eye which he"
2 Britten: "Conner's"
3 Britten: "our"
4 Britten: "hopes and"
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
1 Britten: "ev'ry fond eye which he"
2 Britten: "Conner's"
3 Britten: "our"
4 Britten: "hopes and"
Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Avenging and bright", appears in Irish Melodies [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Avenging and bright" [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Vengeresse et claire", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 144