A Ballad of the Spanish Grandee and His Daughter.
Lyrics
On the edge of broken stonestood a castle, grimly grown;and within, renowned for pride,lived a Spanish Count inside,who ate, and drank, and slept alone.This Spanish lord, by all men knownfor whiskers long and overgrown,had one charming daughter fair,who rose up quickly, unaware,within the castle’s walls of stone.One day, when that old Count stepped outto where the rocks drop straight about,into the hall, well dressed and neat,ran a youth the maiden knew—the chief of outlaw bands was he.And when the heat within him burned,he spoke to her, his face half-turned:“My lady dear, my Madonna kind,behold, I kneel before your eyes,for I have quite lost hold of sense.”“I love you past all reason’s reach!So leave this house, these walls, this keep,and come with me through woods and hills,for your grim father, cold and stern,is quite unmoved by anything.”“Make haste! My horse is waiting still!”He stretched his hand with hopeful will.The maiden, seeing fingers bend,fell swiftly to her lover’s chestas one might sink in marshy land.She trembled like a shaken leaf.Just as the bandit meant to leave,her father entered, tall and grim,and said: “Bold fool, this very dayyou’ll chew the splinters of your coffin!”“Defend yourself!” he cried aloud.The bandit dropped the girl at once,and free at last of added weight,he drew his sword, inflamed with zeal,and gripped it firmly with both hands.And so the savage outlaw foughtthe Count with all the strength he brought.They crossed their blades with furious care,while from the floor the maiden cried:“Stop, father dear! Oh, stop at once!”Ah, cruel fate, ah, bitter turn—the maiden’s voice at last was done,for as they fought with earnest force,they drove, through her unfortunate chest,the final stroke, for both, at once.They fell. The dust lay on the floor.They did not move. They lived no more.Yet in the night, when storms run wild,the old castle guard has sometimes spiedthree wandering ghosts along the hall.
This is the only recording in the English version.
