The River
Language: English
River, mother of fighting men, (Rustula!) Sternest barrier of our land, (Rustula!) From thy bosom we drew life: Ancient, honoured, mighty, grand! Rustula! Oh! what worship had been thine, (Rustula!) Hadst thou held the foe-men, drowned; (Rustula!) Flood, more precious far than wine, Victress, saviour, world-renowned! Rustula! Rustula! Like a girl before her lover, (Rustula!) How thou falterdst, - like a slave; (Rustula!) Sank and fainted, low and lower, When thy mission was to save. Coward, traitress, shameless! Rustula! On thy narrowed, niggard strand, (Rustula!) Despairing, now the tyrant's hand (Rustula!) Grips the last remnant of our land, Wounded and alone I stand, Tricked, derided, impotent! Rustula!
Note: Supposedly a folk song from Leyrich-Turasp; likely a joke name.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "The River", subtitle: "Folksong: Eastern Europe", op. 60 (Two Songs) no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 31
Word count: 106