Glen Collection of printed music > Printed music > Wood's edition of the songs of Scotland

G8
THE SONGS OF SCOTLAND.
r = 84 OKAN AN AOIG; OR, THE SONG OF DEATH
LENTO ASS.M. ■
-fes~
s
£5l
&=
Fare
well, thou fair day, thou green earth, and ye skies, Now
feSEEfeE
=£
*¥-
£
m
^"P
=f
gay with the broad set - ting
Fare
well, loves and friend -ships, ye
-R-
# :? *
**
^ 1.
«
^f-
i^E^
dear ten - der ties ! Our
of ex - ist - ence
Thou
fl
i^g^^^^^^S
grim king of ter - rors, thou life's gloomy foe, Go fright - en the eow-ard and slave ! Go
4-=
Mr=F
fete:
— p-
i
I
!§!^E£E£
S
r~--^
=?— i*
teach them to trem-ble, fell ty-rant ! but know, No ter -rors hast thou for the
brave !
Thou strik'st the dull peasant, he sinks in the dark,
Nor saves e en the wreck of a name :
Thou strik'st the young hero, a glorious mark !
He falls in the blaze of his fame.
In the field of proud honour, our swords in our hands,
Our king and our country to save ;
While victory shines on life's last ebbing sands,
Oh, who would not die with the brave !
" Okan an Aoig ; or, The Song of Death." In a letter addressed to Mrs. Dunlop, dated Ellisland, 17th December
1791, Burns says, " I have just finished the following song, which, to a lady, the descendant of many heroes of his
truly illustrious line, and herself the mother of several soldiers, needs neither preface nor apology. Scene — a field
of battle. Time of the day — evening. The wounded and the dyiDg of the victorious army are supposed to join in the
following Song of Death — ' Farewell, thou fair day,' &c. The circumstance that gave rise to the foregoing verses,
was looking over, with a musical friend, Macdonald's Collection of Highland Airs. I was struck with one, an Isle of
Skye tune, entitled Oraii an Aoig; or, The Song of Death, to the measure of which I have adapted my stanzas." In
a recent work, entitled " The Romance of War, or the Highlanders in France and Belgium," by James Grant, Esq.,
late 62d Regiment, we find two very remarkable passages, one of which relates to the air Oram, an Aoig. We quote
from both. Speaking of the Gordon Highlanders, Mr. Grant, in his Preface, says, " Few, few indeed of the old corps
are now alive ; yet these all remember, with equal pride and sorrow,
1 How upon bloody Quatre Bras.
Brave Cameron heard the wild hurra
Of conquest as he fell ;'
and, lest any reader may suppose that in these volumes the national enthusiasm of the Highlanders has been over-
drawn, I shall state one striking incident which occurred at Waterloo. On the advance of a heavy column of French
infantry to attack La Haye Sainte, a number of the Highlanders sang the stirring verses of 'Bruce's Address to his
army,' which at such a time, had a most powerful effect on their comrades ; and long may such sentiments animate
their representatives, as they are the best incentives to heroism, and to honest emulation." The following passage
from the same work, relates to Colonel Cameron abovementioned, and to the air Oran an Aoig. Colonel Cameron of
Fassifern, mortally wounded, is carried by some of his men and the surgeon, to a house in the village of Waterloo, to
die. P. 163, et seq. Cameron addresses the piper : " ' Come near me, Macvurich ; I would hear the blast of the pipe
once more ere I die. Play the ancient Death-Song of the Skye-men ; my forefathers have often heard it without
shrinking.' ' Oran an Aoig V said the piper, raising his drones. The Colonel moved his hand, and Macvurich began
to screw the pipes and sound a prelude on the reeds, whose notes, even in this harsh and discordant way, caused the
eyes of the Highlander to flash and glare, as it roused the fierce northern spirit in his bosom. ' He ordered that
strange old tune to be played from the first moment I declared his wound to be mortal,' said the surgeon in a low
voice. ' It is one of the saddest and wildest I ever heard.' " For the real circumstances of Colonel Cameron's death
at Waterloo, see letter from an officer (E. R.) in the United Service Magazine for June 1850.
* Wherever this passage occurs, the upper notes may be sung, if the voice cannot reach the lower notes of the melody.