Lo, thy streams are stained with gore;
Many a brave and noble captain
Floats along thy willow’d shore.
All beside thy limpid waters,
All beside thy sands so bright,
Moorish chiefs and Christian warriors
Joined in fierce and mortal fight.
Perhaps a more accurate though less finished rendering of these opening verses might be:
Emerald river, emerald river,
Stained with slaughter’s evil cheer,