Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at 
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
O Erin! To thy harp divine I bid adieu: Yet let me now its sounds resign With homage due. Thy gen'rous sons, that know not fear, Their feelings, genius, fire: O blest be all! But Erin dear, Be blest thy lyre. O where the heart that would not bound With answering beat, To hear thy Planxty's dancing sound, And numbers sweet. And where the heart that sinks not low, And musing melts away, To hear thy harp's deep lonely flow, When mourns the lay. No toil can e'er such sweets supply No chymic power, As brings me bee, with honied thigh, From wild heath flower: And Science, that could wake the strings To chords of rapture high. May envy, while she smiling sings Thy minstrelsy.
Authorship
- by William Smyth (1765 - 1849) [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "The farewell song", WoO. 154 (12 Irische Lieder) no. 3, G. 225 no. 3, published 1812/3. [voice, piano, violin, violoncello] [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (G. Pertz) , title 1: "Abschiedsgesang"
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , title 1: "Le chant d'adieu", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor] , Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2005-09-18
Line count: 24
Word count: 125
Ô Érin ! À ta harpe divine, Je dis adieu : Mais que maintenant je quitte ses sons Avec l'hommage dû. Tes fils généreux qui ne connaissent pas la peur, Leurs sentiments, leur génie, leur flamme, Oh, qu'ils soient tous bénis ! mais chère Érin, Que ta lyre soit bénie. Où est le cœur qui ne bondirait pas Avec un battement à l'unisson, À entendre les notes dansantes de Planxty Et ses doux rythmes, Et où est le cœur qui ne se sent pas faible, Et en rêvant ne s'envole pas, À entendre le flot profond et solitaire de ta harpe, Quand le chant pleure. Aucun travail ne peut fournir de douceurs égales, Aucune puissance chimique, À celle que porte l'abeille les pattes pleines de miel Des fleurs de la lande sauvage : Et la science qui pourrait éveiller les cordes Pour produire des accords de ravissement profond, Peut envier quand elle chante en souriant Ton art de ménestrel.
Authorship
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2014 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: 
- a text in English by William Smyth (1765 - 1849)
This text was added to the website: 2014-01-14
Line count: 24
Word count: 159