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by Anne Hunter (1742 - 1821)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Sir Watkin intending
Language: English 
Our translations:  FRE
Sir Watkin intending,
The morning befriending,
Through woodlands descending,
To hunt the wild deer;
Now slumb'ring, of course, Sir,
Dreams of his bay horse, Sir,
And proud of his force, Sir,
Begins his career.
And forth as he sallies,
Up hills, and down vallies,
Around him he rallies
A train like a peer.

His hunter goes featly,
His stag-hounds run fleetly,
The bugle sounds sweetly,
They raise a fat doe.
Now turning and winding,
Then losing, then finding,
No obstacle minding,
Still forward they go.
All danger subduing,
Impatient pursuing,
With ardour renewing,
Yet ever too slow.

With whoop and with hollo,
His merry men follow,
She skims like a swallow,
And flies like the wind.
Sir Watkin, however,
Who quits the chase never,
Swam over a river,
And left them behind.
The day was fast closing,
His way he was losing,
The road was so posing,
No path could he find.

A castle high frowning,
The lofty rock crowning,
Dim twilight embrowning,
Hung over his head.
And thitherward bending,
With steps slow ascending,
The courser attending,
He cautiously led.
Now dark'ness o'ertaking,
And crags the way breaking,
He fell - and awaking,
The vision was fled!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Anne Hunter (1742 - 1821), "Sir Watkin", written 1800, often linked to a Welsh harp song with several variants called "Llwyn onn" (The ash grove) [author's text not yet checked 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), "Sir Watkin's dream", alternate title: "The ash grove", Hob. XXXIb:7 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le rêve de Sir Watkin", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-02-27
Line count: 48
Word count: 196

Le rêve de Sir Watkin
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
Sir Watkin se proposant,
Le matin étant favorable,
De descendre à travers les bois,
Pour chasser le cerf sauvage ;
Maintenant dormant paisiblement, bien sûr, Sir,
Rêve de son cheval bai, Sir,
Et fier de sa force, Sir,
Commence sa course.
Et il sort gaiement,
Par monts et par vaux,
Autour de lui il rassemble
Une suite comme un pair.

Son cheval de chasse avance fièrement,
Sa meute court comme l'éclair,
Le cor sonne mélodieusement,
Ils lèvent une biche grasse.
Maintenant ils tournent, ils serpentent,
Puis ils perdent, puis ils trouvent,
Ne se souciant d'aucun obstacle,
Toujours, ils avancent.
Ils vainquent tous les dangers,
Poursuivant avec impatience,
Redoublant d'ardeur,
Mais toujours trop lents.

Avec des cris et des hurlements,
Ses joyeux hommes suivent,
Elle rase le sol comme une hirondelle,
Et vole comme le vent.
Sir Watkin, cependant,
Qui n'abandonne jamais la chasse,
Traverse une rivière à la nage,
Et les laisse derrière.
Le jour allait vite tomber,
Il perdait son chemin,
La route était si compliquée,
Il ne put trouver aucun chemin.

Un château haut et sombre,
Couronnant un roc élevé,
Le crépuscule s'assombrit,
Descendit sur sa tête.
Il tourna vers lui,
Montant à pas lents,
Son coursier attentif,
Il le mena précautionneusement.
Maintenant l'obscurité s'abattait,
Et des rochers à pic barraient le chemin,
Il tomba, et en s'éveillant,
La vision avait fui !

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2009 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
    Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in English by Anne Hunter (1742 - 1821), "Sir Watkin", written 1800, often linked to a Welsh harp song with several variants called "Llwyn onn" (The ash grove)
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2009-02-27
Line count: 48
Word count: 223

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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