by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Translation by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803)
Edward, Edward
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Quhy dois zour brand sae drap wi' bluid,
Edward, Edward?
Quhy dois zour brand sae drap wi' bluid?
And quhy sae sad gang zee, O?
O, I hae killed my hauke sae guid,
Mither, mither;
O, I hae killed my hauke sae guid:
And I had nae mair bot hee, O.
Zour haukis bluid was nevir sae reid;
Edward, Edward.
Zour haukis bluid was nevir sae reid;
My deir son I tell thee, O.
O, I hae killed my reid-roan steid,
Mither, mither:
O, I hae killed my reid-roan steid,
That erst was sae fair and frie, O.
Zour steid was auld, and ze hae gat mair,
Edward, Edward:
Zour steid was auld, and ze hae gat mair,
Sum other dule ze drie, O.
O, I hae killed my fadir deir,
Mither, mither:
O, I hae killed my fadir deir
Alas! and wae is mee, O!
And quhatten penance wul ze drie for that?
Edward, Edward.
And quhatten penance will ze drie for that?
My deir son, now tell me, O.
Ile set my feit in zonder boat,
Mither, mither:
Ile set my feit in zonder boat,
And Ile fare ovir the sea, O.
And quhat wul zu doe wi' zour towirs and zour ha',
Edward, Edward?
And quhat wul ze doe wi' zour towirs and zour ha',
That were sae fair to see, O?
Ile let thame stand tul they doun fa',
Mither, mither:
Ile let thame stand tul they doun fa',
For here nevir mair maun I bee, O.
And quhat wul ze leive to zour bairns and zour wife,
Edward, Edward?
And quhat wul zu leive to zour bairns and zour wife,
Quhan zu gang ovir the sea, O?
The warldis room, late them beg thrae life,
Mither, mither:
The warldis room, let them beg thrae life,
For thame nevir mair wul I see, O.
And quhat wul ze leive to zour ain mither deir,
Edward, Edward:
And quhat wul ze leive to zour ain mither deir,
My deir son, now tell mee, O.
The curse of hell frae me sall ze beir,
Mither, mither:
The curse of hell frae me sall ze beir,
Sic counseils ze gave to me, O.
Confirmed with Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry: consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs, and other Pieces of our earlier Poets, (Chiefly of the Lyric kind.) Together with some few of later Date. Volume the First. London: Printed for J. Dodsley in Pall-Mall. M DCC LXV [1765], pages 53-56.
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, "Edward, Edward", subtitle: "A Scottish Ballad", first published 1765 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803) , no title, first published 1773 ; composed by Arnold Krug, Josef Labor, Carl Loewe, Franz Peter Schubert, Karl Sigmund Freiherr von Seckendorff, Josef Antonín Štěpán.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803) , "Edward", subtitle: "Schottisch" ; composed by Johannes Brahms, Catharinus Elling, Adolf Jensen.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Aleksei Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Count (1817 - 1875) ; composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
- Also set in Scottish (Scots), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Edward, Edward", first published 1765 [an adaptation] ; composed by Ivor Gurney, Francis George Scott.
Researcher for this page: Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2017-11-18
Line count: 56
Word count: 364
Dein Schwerdt, wie ists von Blut so...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)
Dein Schwerdt, wie ists [von]1 Blut so roth?
[Edward, Edward]2!
Dein Schwerdt, wie ists [von]1 Blut so roth
Und gehst so traurig da! - O!
Ich hab geschlagen meinen Geyer todt
Mutter, Mutter!
Ich hab geschlagen meinen Geyer todt,
Und das, das geht mir nah! - O!
[Dein's]3 Geyers Blut ist nicht so roth!
[Edward, Edward]2!
[Dein's]3 Geyers Blut ist nicht so roth,
Mein Sohn, bekenn mir frey! - O!
Ich hab geschlagen mein Rothroß todt!
Mutter, Mutter!
Ich hab geschlagen mein Rotroß todt!
[Und's]4 war so stolz und treu! O!
Dein Roß war alt und hasts nicht noth!
[Edward, Edward]2,
Dein Roß war alt und hasts nicht noth,
Dich drückt ein [ander]5 Schmerz. O!
Ich hab geschlagen meinen Vater todt,
Mutter, Mutter!
Ich hab geschlagen meinen Vater todt,
Und das, das quält mein Herz! O!
Und was wirst du nun an dir thun?
[Edward, Edward]2!
Und was wirst du nun an dir thun?
Mein Sohn, [bekenn mir mehr]6! O!
Auf Erden soll mein Fuß nicht ruhn!
Mutter, Mutter!
Auf Erden soll mein Fuß nicht ruhn!
Will wandern [über]7 Meer! O!
Und was soll werden dein Hof und Hall,
[Edward, Edward]2,
Und was soll werden dein Hof und Hall,
So herrlich [sonst und]8 schön! O!
Ach! immer stehs und sink' und fall,
Mutter, Mutter!
Ach immer stehs und sink' und fall,
[Ich werd es nimmer]9 sehn! O!
Und was soll werden [dein]10 Weib und Kind,
[Edward, Edward]2?
Und was soll werden [dein]10 Weib und Kind,
[Wann]11 du gehst [über]7 Meer - O!
Die Welt ist groß! laß sie betteln drinn,
Mutter, Mutter!
Die Welt ist groß! laß sie betteln drinn,
Ich seh sie nimmermehr! - O!
Und was soll deine Mutter thun?
[Edward, Edward]2!
Und was soll deine Mutter thun?
Mein Sohn, das sage mir! O!
Der Fluch der Hölle soll auf Euch ruhn,
Mutter, Mutter!
Der Fluch der Hölle soll auf Euch ruhn,
Denn ihr, ihr [riethets]12 mir! O.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Johann Gottfried Herder's Von Deutscher Art und Kunst. Einige fliegende Blätter. Hamburg, 1773. Bey Bode, pages 25-27.
Note: This is the first version of Herder's translation of the old Scottish ballad Edward, Edward which he found in Thomas Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. A later, somewhat different translation has been published by Herder in his Volkslieder in 1779.
Note: Schubert's setting exists in three versions. Version 3 is phrased as a duet (in the last stanza). In addition, it substitutes "weh!" for each "O!", and replaces "Geyer" by "Falke" in stanzas 1 and 2.
1 Schubert (Neue Gesamtausgabe): "vom"2 Schubert: "Eduard, Eduard"
3 Loewe, Schubert: "Deines"
4 Schubert (Neue Gesamtausgabe): "Und es"
5 Loewe, Schubert: "andrer"
6 Loewe, and Schubert (1862 edition only): "das sage mir"
7 Loewe, Schubert (Alte Gesamtausgabe): "übers"
8 Loewe: "sonst, so"
9 Schubert (Alte Gesamtausgabe only), and Herder (1779 edition): "Mag nie es wieder"
10 Loewe: "aus"
11 Schubert: "Wenn"
12 Schubert (Neue Gesamtausgabe): "rietet es"
Text Authorship:
- by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), no title, first published 1773 [author's text checked 2 times against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Edward, Edward", subtitle: "A Scottish Ballad", first published 1765
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Arnold Krug (1849 - 1904), "Edward", subtitle: "Schottische Ballade", op. 7 (Fünf Gesänge für gemischten Chor) no. 1, published 1875 [ mixed chorus ], Leipzig, Forberg [sung text not yet checked]
- by Josef Labor (1842 - 1924), "Edward" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Edward", op. 1 no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Franz Peter Schubert (1797 - 1828), "Eine altschottische Ballade", op. posth. 165 (Fünf Lieder) no. 5, D 923 (1827), published 1862 [ voice, piano ], C. A. Spina, Wien [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Karl Sigmund Freiherr von Seckendorff (1744 - 1785), "Edward", published 1779 [ voice and piano ], from Volks- und andere Lieder, mit Begleitung des Forte piano, Zweyte Sammlung, no. 9, Weimar: Bey Karl Ludolf Hoffmann [sung text not yet checked]
- by Josef Antonín Štěpán (1726 - 1797), "Edward und seine Mutter", published 1778-9 [sung text not yet checked]
Set in a modified version by Johannes Brahms, Catharinus Elling, Adolf Jensen.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Una antiga balada escocesa", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Een oude Schotse ballade", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Kelly Dean Hansen) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Une ballade écossaise", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Richard Morris , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-08
Line count: 56
Word count: 339