The Lady and the Falconer Songtext

von Angelo Branduardi

In the highlands' bloody history,
There was once a mighty laird.
A braw and fearsome man was he,
With a daughter most passing fair.
Four sons his lady had borne him long,
Four sons that had ne'er drew breath.
And as his daughter gave her first cry,
His beloved wife lay dead.
He hunted o'er the moors by day
With the falcon that was his pride,
Entrusted to an orphan boy
That e'er was by his side.
And when his daughter came of age
There were suitors by the score.
But one by one she bade them "begone",
'till at last they came no more.
But one young man she had loved so long,
And her love he did return.
And on that day they lay down beside
The banks of the shady burn.
The weeks went by, and to everyone
How happy she had become.
Till one fine morn' they woke up to find
Both her and the falconer gone.
They had not ridden a dozen leagues,
Then were caught so easily.
And black with rage the laird cried out,
"he will hang from the gallows tree".
As they placed the noose around his neck,
She cried out so piteously,
"dear father, father spare this man,
For his child is grown in me".
Her lover looked upon his laird,
And he spoke with head held high,
"I have loved you like your own true son,
That you have e'er been denied".
Then from the eyes of that mighty laird
The tears sprang down his cheeks
He cried, "I have been grieving too long,
Make ready a great wedding feast".
In the highlands' bloody history,
There was once a mighty laird.
A braw and handsome man was he,
With grandsons and daughters most fair.