Murray's Murder | O Highland and o Southland!

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by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Murrays Ermordung

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE SPA

O Hochland und o Südland!
  Was ist auf euch geschehn!
Erschlagen der edle Murray,
  Werd' nie ihn wiedersehn.

O weh dir! weh dir, Huntley!
  So untreu, falsch und kühn,
Sollst ihn zurück uns bringen,
  Ermordet hast du ihn.

Ein schöner Ritter war er,
  In Wett- und Ringelauf;
Allzeit war unsres Murray
  Die Krone obendrauf.

Ein schöner Ritter war er
  Bei Waffenspiel und Ball.
Es war der edle Murray
  Die Blume überall.

Ein schöner Ritter war er,
  In Tanz und Saitenspiel;
Ach, daß der edle Murray
  Der Königin gefiel.

O, Königin, wirst lange
  Sehn über Schlosses Wall;
Eh du den schönen Murray
  Siehst reiten in dem Tal.

Confirmed with Johann Gottfried von Herder's Sämmtliche Werke. Zur schönen Literatur und Kunst, Achter Theil, Tübingen, in der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1807, pages 272-273.

Note for stanza 5, line 4: the queen referred to here ("Königin") is Maria Stuart.

Text Authorship:

by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Murray's Ermordung", subtitle: "Schottisch", first published 1778-79 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "The Bonny Earl of Murray"
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Murrays Ermordung", op. 14 (Acht Lieder und Romanzen) no. 3 (1858), published 1861 [ voice and piano ], Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "L’assassinat de Murray", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "De moord op Murray", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Murray's Murder", copyright ©
FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "L'assassinat de Murray", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
SPA Spanish (Español) (Alfonso Sebastián) , "El asesinato de Murray", copyright © 2021, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 106

Murray's Murder

Language: English after the German (Deutsch)

O Highland and o Southland!
What has transpired upon your expanses!
Struck dead is the noble Murray,
And I shall never see him again.

Woe unto you! Woe unto you, Huntley,
So disloyal, false and audacious,
You should bring him back to us,
For you have killed him.

A handsome knight he was,
In races and in jousts;
At all times was our Murray
The crown above us all.

A handsome knight was he,
In wargames and at the ball;
It was the noble Murray
Who was the flower of us all.

A handsome knight was he
In dance and at the lute;
Ah, the noble Murray
Was well-beloved of the Queen.

O, Queen, you will long
Gaze over the castle wall
Before you see the gallant Murray
Come riding down the valley.

Text Authorship:

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in German (Deutsch) by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Murray's Ermordung", subtitle: "Schottisch", first published 1778-79
- Go to the text page.

Based on:

a text in English from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "The Bonny Earl of Murray"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 133