Waken, lords and ladies gay,
[On]1 the mountain dawns the day;
All the jolly chase is here.
With hawk and horses and hunting-spear!
[Hounds are in their couples yelling,
Hawks are whistling, horns are knelling,
Merrily, merrily mingle they,
"Waken, lords and ladies gay."]2

Waken, lords and ladies gay,
The mist has left the mountain gray,
[Springlets in the dawn are steaming,
Diamonds on the brake are gleaming,
And foresters have busy been
To track the buck in thicker green;
Now we come to chant our lay,
"Waken, lords and ladies gay."]3

Waken lords and ladies gay,
To the greenwood haste away;
We can show you where he lies,
Fleet of foot and tall of size;
We can show the marks he made
When 'gainst the oak his antlers frayed;
You shall see him brought to bay;
Waken, lords and ladies gay.

Louder, louder chant the lay,
Waken, lords and ladies gay!
Tell them youth and mirth and glee
[Run a course as well as we;
Time, stern huntsman! who can balk,
Stanch as hound and fleet as hawk?
Think of this, and rise with day,
Gentle lords and ladies gay!]4

L. Beethoven sets stanzas 1, 2, 4

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Beethoven: "Upon"
² Beethoven:

The eager hounds in chorus cry, 
The swelling horns salute the sky; 
And merrily, merrily mingle they, 
Then Waken, lords and ladies gay !

³ Beethoven:

Brakes are deck'd with diamonds bright,
And streams rejoice in early light. 
The foresters have busy been 
To track the buck in thicket green; 
Now we are come to chant our lay, 
Then waken, lords and ladies gay.

⁴ Beethoven:

Run swift their course as well as we; 
Old Time, stern huntsman! who can baulk, 
As staunch as hound and fleet as hawk? 
O think of this, and rise with day, 
Ye gentle lords and ladies gay!

Text Authorship:

• by Walter Scott, Sir (1771 - 1832) [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):

• by Georgina Bairnsfeather (1849 - 1916), "Waken, lords and ladies gay ", published <<1883 [ four-part chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Waken, lords and ladies gay", WoO. 155 (26 Walisische Lieder) no. 12 (1809-10), stanzas 1,2,4 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Brian Holmes (b. 1946), "Hunting Song" [ high voice, horn quartet ], from Three Hunting Songs, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Fanny (Franziska) von Hoffnaaß, née Jägerhuber (1831 - 1892) [an adaptation] ; composed by Joseph Rheinberger.
  • Go to the text.
    
• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Felix Mendelssohn.
  • Go to the text.
    

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

• GER German (Deutsch) (Georg Pertz) , "Auf, ihr Herrn und schmucke Fraun"

Researcher for this page: Brian Holmes

This text was added to the website: 2005-07-06
Line count: 32
Word count: 191