Svend I Rosensgaard- Carlsen (Danish) 1846
[This is a Danish version of Edward titled Svend I Rosensgaard (Svend in the Rose Garden) from Carlsen in 1846. There are two translations, the first was published by Maud Karpeles, ed., in Folk Songs of Europe (w/music) and the second Erik Dal, Danish Ballads and Folk Songs, translated by Henry Meyer. ]
SVEND I ROSENSGAARD
(Son, Come Tell To Me)
(Andantino)
1. Hvor [Em]har du været saa længe?
[Am]Svend i Rosensgaard!
Og [G]jeg har [Am]været i [Em]enge,
[B7]Kære moder [Em]vor!
I vente mig [B7]sent eller [Em]aldrig!
2. Hvorfor er dit svæd saa blodigt?
For jeg har dræbt min broder.
3. Hvor vil du dig hen vende?
Jeg vil af landet rende.
4. Naar vil du dig hjem vende?
Naar alle kvinder bliver enke.
5. Naar bliver alle kvinder enke?
Naar alle mænd bliver døde.
6. Naar bliver alle mænd døde?
Naar huse og gaarde bliver øde.
7. Naar bliver huse og gaarde øde?
Naar vi ser fjedren synke.
8. Naar ser vi fjedren synke?
Naar vi ser stenen flyde.
9. Naar ser vi stenen flyde?
Naar vi ser havet brænde.
10. Naar ser vi havet brænde?
Naar ser vi verdens ende.
(English translation)
1. O where have you been a-roaming?
Son, come tell to me.
All day I've been in the meadow.
O my mother dear,
It's I may come home late or never.
2. O why is your sword so bloody?
Because I've killed my brother.
3. O where, O where will you turn to?
I'll flee to some far country.
4. And when will you come back home, love?
When women all are widows.
5. And when will women be widows?
When there is no man living.
6. And when will no man be living?
When farmlands are all wasted.
7. And when will farmlands be wasted?
When we see feathers a-sinking.
8. And when will feathers be sinking?
When we see stones a-floating.
9. And when will stones be floating?
When we see oceans a-burning.
10. And when will oceans be burning?
When we have seen the world's end.
SOURCE: Maud Karpeles, ed., Folk Songs of Europe (Oak, 1964, p. 4; with music); from Danske Folkesange og Melodier, by A.P. Berggreen (3rd Ed., Copenhagen, 1869)
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A more literal translation of a Danish version ("Svend i Rosengård (Hvor har du været så længe)") comes from Erik Dal, Danish Ballads and Folk Songs, translated by Henry Meyer (The American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1967, pp. 133-134; translated text only).
SVEND IN THE ROSE GARDEN
Recording from South Sealand by Franziska Carlsen, 1846
"Where were you at this late hour
-- Svend in the rose garden near?"
"I have been in the bower
-- O my mother dear.
-- I shall be late or never."
"Why is your sword so bloody?"
"Because I have killed my bother."
"Where will you turn your course?"
"I'll flee this country of ours."
"What will you do with your good wife?"
"She'll spin for her food and keep alive."
"What will you do with the children of yours?"
"I shall place them with friends of ours."
"When shall we see your home-coming?"
"When women are all widow-women."
"When are they all widow-women?"
"When all the men are dead."
"When are all men dead?"
"When all farms are desolate."
"When are they desolate?"
"When ravens they grow white."
"When do ravens grow white?"
"When the swans grow black."
"When do swans grow black?"
"When we see feathers sink."
"When will we see feathers sink?"
"When we see stones afloat."
"When will we see stones afloat?"
"When we see the ocean bloom."
"When will the ocean bloom?"
"When we hear the crack of doom."
Notes: "DgF 340A. See also DgF X, with references to important recent research. * Although the story of this ballad precedes its beginning and possibly continues after its ending, and we thus have only a string of riddle questions and answers (in themselves far older than the poem as in No. 20 ["Svend Normand"]) to stress the murderer's indelible sin, it belongs, nevertheless, together with its Nordic and English parallels (Child 13 Edward) to the most admired specimens of these countries' folk poetry. Its background is indefinable; it simply passes into the chivalry group, although it is tempting to claasify it as a mythical ballad. In early versions one recognizes a knightly setting, in later ones a peasant environment. Rose garden seems to mean cemetery, which the singer possibly has not understood." (p. 276)