by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Rattlin' Roarin' Willie
Language: Scottish (Scots)
O Rattlin, roarin Willie, O he held to the fair, An' for to sell his fiddle And buy some other ware; But parting wi' his fiddle, The saut tear blin't his e'e; And Rattlin, roarin Willie, Ye're welcome hame to me. O Willie, come sell your fiddle, O sell your fiddle sae fine; O Willie, come sell your fiddle, And buy a pint o' wine; If I should sell my fiddle, The warl' would think I was mad, For mony a rantin day My fiddle and I hae had. As I cam by Crochallan I cannily keekit ben, Rattlin, roarin Willie Was sitting at yon boord-en', Sitting at yon boord-en', And amang guid companie; Rattlin, roarin Willie, Ye're welcome hame to me!
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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
Glossary
"blint" = blinded
"keekit ben" = peeped in
"boord-en'" = end of the table
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Rattlin, Roarin Willie" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Rattlin' Roarin' Willie", published 1939 [ low voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 5, no. 7, Bayley & Ferguson; confirmed with Songs of Francis George Scott, selected and edited by Neil Mackay, Roberton Publications, Aylesbury 1980, page 100. [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Bänkelsänger Willie" ; composed by Ferdinand David, Robert Schumann.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 122