Sad Am I, And Sorrow Laden

1. Sad am I, and sorrow laden,
For the maid I love so well;
I adore thee, dearest maiden,
But my thoughts I dare not tell.

2. Why deny my heart is rending
For the fair one of the lea;
After all my careful tending
She has now forsaken me.

3. Ben of peaks the clouds that sever
Oft thy steeps have wearied me
Must I leave thy shade forever?
Then farewell, farewell to thee!

4. Ev'ry corrie, crag and hollow,
Heath'ry brae and flow'ry dell,
Now awaken pangs of sorrow
But my thoughts I dare not tell.

5. Mountain bold! thy form surpasses
Ev'ry ben that eye can see,
Long may deer frequent thy passes,
Near thee I would ever be.

6. Sad am I, and sorrow laden
For the maid I love so well;
I adore thee, dearest maiden,
But my thoughts I dare not tell.



This is an old Gaelic tune from the Hebrides found in the "Memorial Edition" of "The Celtic Garland of Gaelic Songs and Readings" from Scotland in 1920.  The first edition is from 1881.  It indicates the tune was "written by a young man when leaving his native isle."