by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Translation by Louise Swanton-Belloc (1796 - 1881)
Forget not the field
Language: English
Our translations: FRE
Forget not the field where they perish'd, The truest, the last of the brave, All gone--and the bright hope we cherish'd Gone with them, and quench'd in their grave! Oh! could we from death but recover Those hearts as they bounded before, In the face of high heav'n to fight over That combat for freedom once more;-- Could the chain for an instant be riven Which Tyranny flung round us then, No, 'tis not in Man, nor in Heaven, To let Tyranny bind it again! But 'tis past--and, tho' blazon'd in story The name of our Victor may be, Accurst is the march of that glory Which treads o'er the hearts of the free. Far dearer the grave or the prison, Illumed by one patriot name, Than the trophies of all, who have risen On Liberty's ruins to fame.
Confirmed with Thomas Moore, A New Edition from the last London Edition, Boston: Lee and Shepard; New York: Lee, Shepard, & Dillingham, 1876.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Forget not the field", appears in Irish Melodies [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 French (Français), adapted by Thomas Gounet (1801 - 1869) [an adaptation] ; composed by Hector Berlioz.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "N'oubliez pas le champ", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Louise Swanton-Belloc) , "Aux morts", appears in Les Amours des Anges et Les Mélodies Irlandaises, in Mélodies Irlandaises, Paris, Éd. Chasseriau, first published 1823
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-03
Line count: 20
Word count: 139
Aux morts
Language: French (Français) after the English
N'oublions pas le champ de bataille où périrent les plus fidèles et les derniers des braves. Tous sont tombés ! -- la brillante espérance que nous avions chérie disparut avec eux, et s'éteiguit dans leur tombeau ! Oh ! si nous pouvions arracherà la mort ces cœurs palpitans pour livrer encore une fois à la face du ciel le combat de la liberté ! Si la chaîne que la tyrannie riva autour de nous pouvait se un instant, il ne serait donné ni à l'homme ni aux cieux de laisser les tyrans la forger de nouveau ! Mais l'heure est passée ! Quoique le nom de notre vainqueur puisse vivre dans l'histoire, maudite soit la marche du conquérant qui foule aux pieds des cœurs nobles et libres ! Oh ! plus chère que les trophées de tous ceux qui se sont élevés à la gloire sur les ruines de la liberté, est la tombe ou la prison illustrée par le nom d'un martyr de la patrie !
Confirmed with Chefs-d'Œvre Poétiques de Thomas Moore, traduits par Mme. Louise Sw. Belloc, Paris, Librairie de Charles
Gosselin, 1841, pages 181-182.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text Authorship:
- by Louise Swanton-Belloc (1796 - 1881), "Aux morts", appears in Les Amours des Anges et Les Mélodies Irlandaises, in Mélodies Irlandaises, Paris, Éd. Chasseriau, first published 1823 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Forget not the field", appears in Irish Melodies
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 ]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-06-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 158