by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Translation © by Salvador Pila

The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
Language: English 
Our translations:  CAT FRE
The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone
In the ranks of death you'll find him;
His father's sword he [has]1 girded on,
And his wild harp slung behind him.
"Land of Song", said the warrior bard,
"Tho' all the world betrays thee,
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,
One faithful harp shall praise thee".

The Minstrel fell! but the foeman's chain
Could not bring that proud soul under,
The harp he lov'd ne'er spoke again,
For he tore its chords asunder;
And said, "No chains shall sully thee,
Thou soul of love and brav'ry!
Thy songs were made for the pure and free,
They shall never sound in slav'ry".

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   V. Herbert 

V. Herbert sets stanza 1

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Note: some settings of this text use a third verse written by an unknown author during the American Civil War, found here.

1 Herbert: "hath"

Text Authorship:

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

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Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 113

El jove joglar ha anat a la guerra
Language: Catalan (Català)  after the English 
El jove joglar ha anat a la guerra
a les files de la mort el trobareu;
s’ha cenyit l’espasa del seu pare,
i la seva extravagant arpa al seu darrere.
“País dels cants”, digué el bard guerrer,
“Encara que tot el món et traeixi,
una espasa almenys defensarà els teus drets,
una arpa fidel et lloarà.”

El joglar caigué! Però la cadena de l’enemic
no pogué sotmetre aquella altiva ànima,
l’arpa que ell estimava no parlà mai més,
car ell n’arrencà les cordes;
i digué: “Cap cadena et sollarà,
tu, ànima d’amor i valentia!
Els teus cants estaven fets per als purs i els lliures,
no sonaran mai en l’esclavatge.”

About the headline (FAQ)

Translations of titles:
"Minstrel Boy" = "Jove joglar"
"The Minstrel Boy" = "El jove joglar"


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2024 by Salvador Pila, (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.
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This text was added to the website: 2024-10-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 110