夏日最後玫瑰  The Last Rose of Summer

Click:  music (演奏曲)

高昂清新的愛爾蘭民謠，緩緩細說著生命奮鬥的歷程，

與Danny Boy (丹尼男孩)並列為愛爾蘭二首最有名的民謠詠唱調，

女高音特別鍾愛的歌曲。

The Last Rose of Summer is a poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore, who was a friend of Byron and Shelley. Moore wrote it in 1805 while at Jenkinstown Park in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Sir John Stevenson set the poem to its beautiful melody and it was published in a collection of Moore's work called Irish Melodies (1807-34). It was made popular in the twenty first century in a recording by Charlotte Church and the Irish Tenors.

This melody was used extensively throughout Friedrich von Flotow's opera "Martha," first performed in 1847 in Vienna. According to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1954), this opera was a remodelling from a ballet written in conjunction with Burgmuller and Deldevez and produced in Paris in 1844 as "Lady Henriette." It stands to reason, based on the evidence, that Flotow made liberal use of Stevenson's melody.
It is sung in the Musical group Celtic Woman by Méav Ní Mhaolchatha and Hayley Westenra

歌詞相當動人，如下：

曲: Thomas Moore, 1779-1852

詞: Sir John Stevenson, 1761-1833

'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming all alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flower of her kindred,
No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.

So soon may I follow
When friendships decay,
And from love's shining circle
The gems drop away!
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them;
'Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow
When friendships decay,
And from love's shining circle
The gems drop away!
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?

愛爾蘭民謠《秋夜吟》丹尼男孩  Danny Boy  Click: music (Choir) 丹尼男孩 Danny Boy /  倫敦德里小調 Londonderry Air /  輕柔的豎琴 The Gentle Harp

噢！丹尼男孩，那風笛的聲音不斷的呼喚著…，這首舉世聞名的愛爾蘭民謠「丹尼男孩」（Danny Boy），是任何一場愛爾蘭音樂演唱會中，勢必會被點唱的歌曲。這首曲子的作曲者為羅利．戴爾．歐卡漢（Rory Dall O'Cahan），寫於1600年間。後來，費德里克．魏舍利（Frederick Edward Weatherly）在1913年將其填了「丹尼男孩」歌詞，深受當時人們的喜愛，而流傳至今，其歌詞如下： Danny Boy Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling From glen to glen, and down the mountain side The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide. But come ye back when summer's in the meadow Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow 'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so. And if you come, when all the flowers are dying And I am dead, as dead I well may be You'll come and find the place where I am lying And kneel and say an "Ave" there for me. And I shall hear, tho' soft you tread above me And all my dreams will warm and sweeter be If you'll not fail to tell me that you love me I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me. I'll simply sleep in peace until you come to me.   其實中文填詞還有一首寫得非常棒的，名為「秋夜吟」，這首歌詞比上述中文的「倫敦德里小調」歌詞還要動人，若在夜深人靜時吟唱這首歌，會被其歌詞感動而不覺潸然淚下，這首歌在早期的國小或國中音樂課中，是必唱的歌曲，為目前年輕人已較不熟悉，而這首歌的填詞者亦不可考，相當可惜，其歌詞如下： 秋夜吟 月亮當空，照射大地明亮如鏡， 雲淡風輕，秋高又氣爽。 在這個優美撩人的秋夜裡， 想起了遙遠的故鄉，家鄉的母親。 啊！母親呀！我最愛的母親， 您愛家鄉，卻更愛著我們， 為了我們明天有光榮的前程， 引導著我們奔向旅程。