Murder Ballad Monday--Grausame Schwester (German)

Hello and welcome to part nineteen of Murder Ballad Monday.

For the last few weeks we have been exploring non-English versions of the traditional murder ballad The Twa Sisters. We have seen two Norwegian versions and one Swedish version of the song and today we are going to look at a German version entitled Grausame Schwester by a folk metal band called Subway to Sally. They are a heavy metal band that uses folk instruments like the lute, bagpipes, violin and hurdy-gurdy. While the Scandinavian versions were sung in the style of a traditional ballad, this one is not. I will be honest and say if I had not read the lyrics I would have never guessed it was a version of the Twa Sisters, but it most definitely is.  It is also only one of two that I have found that do not feature a refrain. 

If you would like to see the lyrics in German you can go here:

http://lyricstranslate.com/en/grausame-schwester-cruel-sister.html

It is fairly melodramatic with lines like 

Jealousy gnawed at her day and night,

she wished that the beautiful one would lie in a grave

and they wept themselves blind, so lachrymose was the tune 

and the final over-the top lines:

Oh cruel sister, what have you done,

the girl killed in feverish madness

With envy in the heart, with malice in the gut

Hell now awaits, they will kill you too!

This is a live version of the song sung at some sort of huge metal fest, but it is amazing how the crowd responds to the traditional lyrics (even if the music is anything but traditional). Watch the version by Subway to Sally here:

Here's how it breaks down compared to other versions:

Name of ballad: Grausame Schwester

Performed by:  Subway to Sally

Refrain: none

Number of sisters: two

Where did they live: in the north by the sea

Appearance described as: One was of a bright and beautiful figure, the older, however, was dark and cold.

 Sweetheart:  none mentioned

Excuse to go to the water: none given, but it was a day that the winds blew strong
Body of water: seashore

Does it contain the line “Sometimes she sank, sometimes she swam”: no

Miller and child: no

Mistaken for: n/a

Described in death: n/a

Who finds her on the bank: two musicians 

Instrument she becomes: harp

Body parts used: hair and leg

Would her song “melt a heart of stone”: no, it was a song like a scream

Do the strings sing individually: no

What does the instrument sing: it revealed the name of the murderer

Is the sister punished: yes I would think so with a last line that says Hell now awaits, they will kill you too!

Here are the lyrics if you would to follow along.

Cruel Sister

There lived a woman in the north by the sea,

long ago, she bore two daughters

One was of a bright and beautiful figure,

the older, however, was dark and cold.

Jealousy gnawed at her day and night,

she wished that the beautiful one would lie in a grave,

and then one day, as the wind blew strong,

she pushed her sister from the cliff down into the sea

The wind and the waves, they roar and cry,

far above the cliffs, far above the rocks.

But through the wind and the waves a sound penetrates

the voice of a girl, a song like a scream

Two musicians went down to the windy beach,

they found the lifeless body in the sand,

they took her hair, they took her leg,

they built a harp, to free the song

On the windy beach, when they began to play

they wept themselves blind

so lachrymose was the tune, as it softly

revealed the name of the murderer

The wind and the waves, they roar and cry,

far above the cliffs, far above the rocks.

But through the wind and the waves penetrates a sound

the voice of a girl

Oh cruel sister, what have you done,

the girl killed in feverish madness

With envy in the heart, with malice in the gut

Hell now awaits, they will kill you too!

So, that’s it for version nineteen of The Twa Sisters. Stay tuned next Monday for version twenty.