CARMINA GADELICA

Ortha nan Gaidheal

MAGNUS OF MY LOVE

O Magnus of my love

Thou it is who would'st us guide,

Thou fragrant body of grace,

Remember us.

Remember us, thou Saint of power,

Who didst encompass and protect the people,

Succour thou us in our distress,

Nor forsake us.

Lift our flocks to the hills,

Quell the wolf and the fox,

Ward from us spectre, giant, fury,

And oppression.

Surround cows and herds,

Surround sheep and lambs;

Keep from them the water-vole,

And the field-vole.

Sprinkle dew from the sky upon kine,

Give growth to grass, and corn, and sap to plants,

Water-cress, deer's-grass, 'ceis,' burdock,

And daisy.

O Magnus of fame,

On the barque of the heroes,

On the crests of the waves,

On the sea, on the land,

Aid and preserve us.