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by Allan Cunningham (1784 - 1842)
Translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876)

Gordon of Brackley
Language: English 
Down Dee side came Inveraye,
Whistling and playing;
And called loud at Brackley gate,
Ere the day dawing,
"Come, Gordon of Brackley,
Proud Gordon, come down;
A sword 's at your threshold,
Mair sharp than your own."

"Arise now, gay Gordon,"
His lady gan cry;
"Look, there is bold Inveraye
Driving your kye."
"How can I go, ladye,
To win them agen?
I have but ae sword,
And rude Inveraye ten."

"Arise, all my maidens,
With roke and with fan;
How blest had I been
Had I married a man!
Arise, all my maidens,
Take buckler and sword;
Go milk the ewes, Gordon,
And I shall be lord."

The Gordon sprang up,
Put his helm on his head;
Laid his hand on his sword,
And his thigh on his steed,
And stoop'd low and said,
As he kiss'd his young dame,
"There 's a Gordon rides out
That will never ride hame."

Wi' sword and wi' dagger
He rush'd on him rude;
And the gay gallant Gordon
Lies bathed in his blude.
Frae the sources of Dee
To the mouth of the Spey,
The Highlanders mourn for him
And curse Inveraye.

"O came ye by Brackley,
And what saw ye there?
Was his young widow weeping
And tearing her hair?"
"I came in by Brackley,
I came in, and oh!
There was mirth, there was feasting,
But nothing of woe.

"As a rose bloom'd the lady,
And blythe as a bride;
like a bridgeroom bold Inveraye
Smiled at her side.
And she feasted him there,
As she ne'er feasted lord,
Though the blood of her husband
Was moist on his sword."

There 's grief in the cottage
And tears in the ha',
For the gay gallant Gordon
That 's dead and awa'.
To the bush comes the bud,
And the flower to the plain,
But the good and the brave,
They come never again.

Text Authorship:

  • by Allan Cunningham (1784 - 1842), "Gordon of Brackley" [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 German (Deutsch), a translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876) , "Gordon von Brackley" ; composed by Adolf Jensen.
      • Go to the text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-07-17
Line count: 64
Word count: 314

Gordon von Brackley
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English 
Dee-abwärts kam Inveraye,
Trotziglich jagend,
Vor Tag schon an Backley-Thor
Rufend und schlagend:
"Komm, Gordon von Brackley,
Komm, Hüter des Rains!
Em Schwert pocht an's Thor dir,
Ist schärfer als deins!"

"Steh' auf nun, mein Gordon,"
Begann sein Gemahl,
"Sieh', Inveraye treibt dir
Die Kühe durch's Thal!"
"Wie kann ich, o Dame,
Wie kann ich denn gehn?
Ich habe nur Ein Schwert,
Und Inveraye zehn!" 

"Mit Rocken, mit Fächer
Kommt, Mädchen, heran!
Wie reich wär' ich, hätt' ich
Gefreit einen Mann!
Steht auf, meine Mädchen,
Waffnet euch, waffnet mich!
Geh', Gordon, melk' Schafe,
Lord jetzo bin ich!"

Der Gordon springt auf,
Nimmt Helm und Geschoß,
Legt die Hand an fein Schwert,
Und den Schenkel auf's Roß.
Und wie er sie küßt,
Da muß sie es hören:
"Ein Gordon sprengt fort,
Kein Gordon wird kehren!"

Mit Schwert und mit Dolch
Fiel Inveraye's Streich,
Und der frohtapfre Gordon
Liegt blutig und bleich.
Von den Quellen des Dee
Bis zur Mündung des Spey
Beklagt ihn das Hochland,
Und flucht Inveraye.

"O kamt ihr nach Brackley?
Doch redet mir wahr:
Beweint ihn die Wittwe,
Zerrauft sie ihr Haar?"
"Wohl kam ich nach Brackley,
Doch sah ich kein Leid,
Nur Schmausen, nur Tanzen,
Und lustige Zeit.

"Wie ein Bräutchen die Dame,
So lachend, so frisch;
Wie ein Bräutigam Inveraye
Nächst ihm am Tisch.
Sie gab ihm Bankett,
Wie kein Lord es erlebt,
Ob das Blut ihres Herrn
Auch sein Schwert noch umklebt."

In Hütt' und in Halle
Ist Jammer und Noth
Um den frohtapfern Gordon,
Der hin ist und todt.
Dem Feld kehrt die Blume,
Die Knospe dem Flieder,
Doch die Guten, die Tapfern,
Sie kommen nicht wieder. 

Text Authorship:

  • by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876), "Gordon von Brackley" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in English by Allan Cunningham (1784 - 1842), "Gordon of Brackley"
    • 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 Adolf Jensen (1837 - 1879), "Gordon von Brackley", op. 51 no. 1, published 1876 [voice and piano], from Vier Balladen von Allan Cunningham, no. 1, Breslau, Hainauer [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-07-17
Line count: 64
Word count: 273

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
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