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by Walter Scott, Sir (1771 - 1832)
Translation © by Guy Laffaille

Oh! Tell me, Harper, wherefore flow
Language: English 
Our translations:  FRE
Oh! Tell me, Harper, wherefore flow
Thy wayward notes of wail and woe
Far down the desert of Glencoe,
Where non may list their melody?
Say, harp'st thou to the mist that fly,
Or to the dun deer glancing by,
Or to the eagle, that from high
Screams chorus to thy minstrelsy?

No, not to these, for they have rest,
The mist-wreath has the mountain crest,
The stag his lair, the erne her nest,
Abode of lone security.
But those for whom I pour the lay,
Not wild wood deep, nor mountain grey,
Not this deep dell that shrouds from day
Could screen from treach'rous cruelty.

The hand that mingled in the meal,
At midnight drew the felon steel,
And gave the host's kind breast to feel,
Meed for his hospitality.
The friendly heart which warm'd that hand,
At midnight arm'd it with a brand
That bade destruction's flames expand
Their red and fearful blazonry.

Long have my harp's best notes been gone,
Few are its strings, and faint their tone,
They can but sound in desert lone
Their grey-hair'd master's misery.
Were each grey hair a minstrel string,
Each chord should imprecations fling,
'Till startled Scotland loud should ring,
"Revenge for blood and treachery!"

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter Scott, Sir (1771 - 1832), "On the Massacre of Glencoe" [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), "On the massacre of Glencoe", WoO. 152 (25 irische Lieder) no. 5, G. 223 no. 5 (1810/3) [ voice, violin, violoncello, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Glencoe", WoO. 156 (12 Scottish Songs) no. 10, G. 227 no. 10, published 1819 [ vocal trio, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Sur la massacre de Glencoe", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "Das Blutbad von Glencoe"


Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2004-12-10
Line count: 32
Word count: 205

Sur la massacre de Glencoe
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
Oh ! Dis-moi, harpiste, pourquoi coulent
Tes notes rebelles de plainte et de malheur
En bas vers le désert de Glencoe,
Où ils ne peuvent écouter leur mélodie ?
Dis, joues-tu de la harpe pour la brume qui vole ,
Ou pour le cerf brun qui jette un œil,
Ou pour l'aigle qui depuis les hauteurs
Crie en chœur avec tes chants ?

Non, pas pour eux, car ils ont où se reposer,
La couronne de brume a la crête de la montagne,
Le cerf son antre, l'aigle son nid,
Demeures de sécurité solitaire.
Mais ceux pour qui je déverse mon chant,
Il n'y a ni bois profond et sauvage, ni montagne grise,
Ni cette profonde vallée qui cache du jour,
Qui pourrait faire écran à la trahison cruelle.

La main qui s'est mêlée au repas,
À minuit a sorti l'acier félon,
Et lui donna la douce poitrine de l'hôte à sentir,
En récompense pour son hospitalité.
Le cœur amical qui réchauffa cette main,
À minuit l'arma d'un tison
Qui ordonna aux flammes de la destruction de répandre
Leur blason rouge et effrayant.

Depuis longtemps les meilleures notes de ma harpe sont parties,
Ses cordes sont peu nombreuses et leur son est faible.
Elles ne peuvent que faire résonner seules
La misère de leur maître à la chevelure grise,
Si chaque cheveu gris était une corde de ménestrel
Chaque accord lancerait des imprécations,
Jusqu'à ce que l'Écosse sursaute d'un puissant :
« Vengeance pour le sang et la trahison ! »

Text 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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

  • a text in English by Walter Scott, Sir (1771 - 1832), "On the Massacre of Glencoe"
    • Go to the text page.

 

This text was added to the website: 2014-01-20
Line count: 32
Word count: 246

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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!
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