Edward, Edward

"Why does your brand sae drop wi' blude,
Edward, Edward?
Why does your brand sae drop wi' blude,
And why sae sad gang ye, O?"

"O, I hae kill'd my hawk sae gude,
Mither, mither;
O, I have kill'd my hawk sae gude,
And I had nae mair but he, O!"

"Your hawk's blude was never sae red,
Edward, Edward?
Your hawk's blude was never sae red,
My dear son I tell thee, O!"

"O, I hae kill'd my red-roan steed,
Mither, mither;
O, I hae kill'd my red-roan steed,
That erst wa sae fair and free, O!"

"Your steed was auld, and ye hae got mair,
Edward, Edward?
Your steed was auld, and ye hae got mair,
[Some other dole ye dree, O]1!"

"O, I hae slain my father dear,
Mither, mither;
O, I hae slain my father dear,
Alas, and wae is me, O!"

"And whatten pennance will ye dree for that,
Edward, Edward?
Whatten pennance will ye dree for that
[My dear son, now tell me, O]1!"

"I'll set my feet [in yonder]2 boat,
Mither, mither;
I'll set my feet [in yonder]2 boat,
And I'll gang over the sea, O."

"And what will ye do wi' your tow'rs and your ha',
Edward, Edward?
And what will ye do wi' your tow'rs and your ha',
That were sae fair to see, O?"

"I'll let them stand till they doun fa',
Mither, mither;
I'll let them stand till they doun fa',
For here never mair maun I be, O."

"And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife,
Edward, Edward?
And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife,
When ye gang owre the sea, O?"

"The warld's room, let them beg through life,
Mither, mither;
The warld's room, let them beg through life;
For them never mair will I see, O."

"And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear,
Edward, Edward?
And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear,
[My dear son, now tell me, O]1!"

"The curse of hell from me sall ye bear,
Mither, mither;
The curse of hell from me sall ye bear,
Sic counsels ye gave to me, O!"

by Volkslieder (Folksongs) , Scottish-English ballad, collected by Thomas Percy in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, published 1765

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

by Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) , "Edward, Edward"

by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) , "Edward", op. 75 (Vier Balladen und Romanzen) no. 1 (1877).
by Josef Labor (1842-1924) , "Edward"
by Johann Karl Gottfried Loewe (1796-1869) , "Edward", op. 1 no. 1.
by Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) , "Eine altschottische Ballade", D. 923 (1827), published 1863.
by Josef Antonín Štěpán (1726-1797) , "Edward und seine Mutter", published 1778-9.

by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) , "Shotlandskaja ballada", op. 46 (Shest' dujetov) no. 2 (1880). [duet]

Date added to the website: 2003-11-08.

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