Murrays Ermordung | O Hochland und o Südland!

Translation by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803)

The Bonny Earl of Murray

Language: English

Ye Highlands, and ye Lowlands,
    Oh where have you been?
They have slain the Earl of Murray,
    And they layd him on the green.

“Now wae be to thee, Huntly!
    And wherefore did you sae?
I bade you bring him wi’ you,
    But forbade you him to slay.”

He was a braw gallant,
    And he rid at the ring;
And the bonny Earl of Murray,
    Oh he might have been a king!

He was a braw gallant,
    And he play’d at the ba’;
And the bonny Earl of Murray
    Was the flower amang them a’.
 
He was a braw gallant,
    And he play’d at the glove;
And the bonny Earl of Murray,
    Oh he was the Queen’s love!
 
Oh lang will his lady
    Look o’er the Castle Down,
E’er she see the Earl of Murray
    Come sounding thro the town!

Confirmed with The Library of the World’s Best Literature. An Anthology in Thirty Volumes, New York: Warner Library Co., 1917.

Text Authorship:

from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "The Bonny Earl of Murray" [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 English, [adaptation] ; composed by Benjamin Britten.
Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Ivor Gurney.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803) , "Murray's Ermordung", subtitle: "Schottisch", first published 1778-79 ; composed by Johannes Brahms.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2021-04-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 140

Murrays Ermordung

Language: German (Deutsch) after the English

Our translations: CAT DUT ENG FRE SPA

O Hochland und o Südland!
  Was ist auf euch geschehn!
Erschlagen der edle Murray,
  Werd' nie ihn wiedersehn.

O weh dir! weh dir, Huntley!
  So untreu, falsch und kühn,
Sollst ihn zurück uns bringen,
  Ermordet hast du ihn.

Ein schöner Ritter war er,
  In Wett- und Ringelauf;
Allzeit war unsres Murray
  Die Krone obendrauf.

Ein schöner Ritter war er
  Bei Waffenspiel und Ball.
Es war der edle Murray
  Die Blume überall.

Ein schöner Ritter war er,
  In Tanz und Saitenspiel;
Ach, daß der edle Murray
  Der Königin gefiel.

O, Königin, wirst lange
  Sehn über Schlosses Wall;
Eh du den schönen Murray
  Siehst reiten in dem Tal.

Confirmed with Johann Gottfried von Herder's Sämmtliche Werke. Zur schönen Literatur und Kunst, Achter Theil, Tübingen, in der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1807, pages 272-273.

Note for stanza 5, line 4: the queen referred to here ("Königin") is Maria Stuart.

Text Authorship:

by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744 - 1803), "Murray's Ermordung", subtitle: "Schottisch", first published 1778-79 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in English from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "The Bonny Earl of Murray"
- Go to the text page.

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

by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897), "Murrays Ermordung", op. 14 (Acht Lieder und Romanzen) no. 3 (1858), published 1861 [ voice and piano ], Winterthur, Rieter-Biedermann [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 106