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by James Macpherson (pretending to translate "Ossian") (1736 - 1796)

My love is a son of the hill
Language: English 
Vinvela:
 My love is a son of the hill.
 He pursues the flying deer. 
 His grey dogs are panting around him; 
 his bow-string sounds in the wind.
 Dost thou rest by the fount of the rock,
 or by the noise of the mountain-stream?
 the rushes are nodding to the wind,
 the mist flies over the hill.
 I will approach my love unseen;
 I will behold him from the rock.
 Lovely I saw thee first 
 by the aged oak of Branno;
 thou wert returning tall from the chase;
 the fairest among thy friends.

Shilric:
 What voice is that I hear?
 that voice like the summer wind!
 I sit not by the nodding rushes;
 I hear not the fount of the rock.
 Afar Vinvela, afar,
 I go to the wars of Fingal.
 My dogs attend me no more.
 No more I tread the hill.
 No more from on high I see thee,
 fair-moving by the stream of the plain;
 bright as the bow of heaven;
 as the moon on the western wave.

Vinvela:
 Then thou art gone, O Shilric!
 I am alone on the hill!
 The deer are seen on the brow;
 void of fear they graze along.
 No more they dread the wind,
 no more the rustling tree.
 The hunter is far removed;
 he is in the field of graves.
 Strangers! sons of the waves!
 spare my lovely Shilric!

Shilric:
 If fall I must in the field,
 raise high my grave, Vinvela.
 Grey stones and heaped-up earth,
 shall mark me to future times.
 When the hunter shall sit by the mound,
 and produce his food at noon,
 "Some warrior rests here," he will say;
 and my fame shall live in his praise.
 Remember me, Vinvela,
 when low on earth I lie!

Vinvela:
 Yes! I will remember thee;
 alas! my Shilric will fall!
 What shall I do, my love!
 when thou art for ever gone? 
 Through these hills I will go at noon:
 I will go through the silent heath.
 There I will see the place of thy rest,
 returning from the chase.
 Alas! my Shilric will fall;
 but I will remember Shilric.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Poems of Ossian. Translated by James Macpherson, Esq; Vol.I. A new edition, carefully corrected, and greatly improved. London, MDCCLXXIII, pages 55-57.


Text Authorship:

  • by James Macpherson (pretending to translate "Ossian") (1736 - 1796), no title, appears in Carric-Thura  [author's text checked 2 times 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 German (Deutsch), a translation by Edmund von Harold, Baron (1737 - 1808) , no title ; composed by Franz Peter Schubert.
      • Go to the text.

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

  • FRE French (Français) (Auguste Lacaussade) , no title, first published 1842


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Peter Rastl [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2004-01-18
Line count: 61
Word count: 346

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