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Translation © by David K. Smythe
The twa corbies
Language: English
As I was walking all alane, I heard twa corbies making a mane; The tane unto the [t'other]1 say, '[Where]2 sall we gang and dine [today]3?' "In behint yon auld fail dyke, I wot there lies a new-slain knight; And naebody kens that he lies there, But his hawk, his hound, and [his]4 lady fair. His hound is to the hunting gane, His hawk, to fetch the wild-fowl hame, His lady's ta'en another mate, So we may make our dinner sweet. Ye'll sit on his white hause-bane, And I'll pike out his bonny blue e'en; Wi' ae lock o' his gowden hair We'll theek our nest when it grows bare. Many a one for him makes mane, But nane sall ken [whare]2 he is gane: O'er his white banes, when they are bare, The wind sall blaw for evermair."
Text Authorship:
- from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "The twa corbies", published by Sir Walter Scott, as written down, from tradition, by a lady, from The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Vol. 3, James Ballantyne, Edinburgh, first published 1803 [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 Frederic Ayres (1876 - 1926), "The twa corbies" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, Sir (1883 - 1953), "The twa corbies", 1906 [ reciter and piano ], from Two Recitations for spoken voice and piano, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882 - 1961), "The twa corbies", 1903-1909, published 1924 [ baritone and piano or 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, contrabass ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "The twa corbies", 1914-1915, published 1920 [ voice and piano ], in Music and Letters [sung text checked 1 time]
Set in a modified version by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Percy Aldridge Grainger, John Ireland, Thomas Ravenscroft.
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by A. Aleksandrova ; composed by Sigizmund Mikhailovich Blumenfel'd.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887) ; composed by Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Sigizmund Mikhailovich Blumenfel'd.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Anna Teichmüller.
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- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Oskar Ludwig Bernhard Wolff (1799 - 1851) [an adaptation] ; composed by Carl Banck.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799 - 1837) , no title, written 1828, first published 1828 ; composed by Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Aliabev, Sigizmund Mikhailovich Blumenfel'd, Nikita Vladimirovich Bogoslovsky, Evgeny Ivanovich Bukke, Aleksandr Sergeyevich Dargomyzhsky, Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko , Sergey Mikhailovich Lyapunov, Nikolai Karlovich Medtner, Ivan Alexandrovich Pomazansky, Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov, Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein, V. Ryabov, Georgiy Vasil'yevich Sviridov, Ilya Fyodorovich Tyumenev, Aleksei Nikolayevich Verstovsky, Mikhail Yur'yevich Viel'gorsky.
- Also set in Ukrainian (Українська), a translation by Ivan Yakovych Franko (1856 - 1916) ; composed by Viktor Stepanovych Kosenko .
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (David K. Smythe) , "The two ravens", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , no title, first published 1826
Researcher for this page: David K. Smythe
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-02
Line count: 20
Word count: 139
The two ravens
Language: English after the English
As I was walking all alone, I heard two ravens complaining; The one to the other saying, 'Where shall we go and dine today?' "In behind that old field wall, I know that there lies a new-slain knight; And nobody knows that he lies there, But his hawk, his hound, and lady fair. His hound is to the hunting gone, His hawk, to fetch the wild-fowl home, His lady's taken another mate, So we may make our dinner sweet. You'll sit on his white collar-bone, And I'll peck out his pretty blue eyes; With this lock of his golden hair We'll roof our nest when it grows bare. Very many for him lament, But none shall know where he is gone: Over his white bones, when they are bare, The wind shall blow for evermore."
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to English copyright © by David K. Smythe, (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 from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "The twa corbies", published by Sir Walter Scott, as written down, from tradition, by a lady, from The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Vol. 3, James Ballantyne, Edinburgh, first published 1803
This text was added to the website:
Line count: 20
Word count: 135