by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Thou ling'ring star, with less'ning ray
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Available translation(s): FRE
Thou ling'ring star, with less'ning ray, That lov'st to greet the early morn, Again thou usher'st in the day My Mary from my soul was torn. O Mary! dear, departed shade! Where is thy place of blissful rest? Seest thou thy lover lowly laid? Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast? That sacred hour can I forget, Can I forget the hallow'd grove, Where by the winding Ayr we met To live one day of parting love! Eternity cannot efface Those records dear of transports past, The image of our last embrace; -- Ah! little thought we 'twas our last! Ayr, gurgling, kiss'd his pebbled shore, O'erhung with wild woods thickening green; The fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar 'Twin'd amorous round the raptur'd scene; The flowers sprang wanton to be prest, The birds sang love on every spray. Till too, too soon, the glowing west Proclaim'd the speed of winged day. Still o'er these scenes my mem'ry wakes, And fondly broods with miser care; Time but the impression stronger makes, As streams their channels deeper wear. My Mary! dear departed shade! Where is thy place of blissful rest? Seest thou thy lover lowly laid? Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast?
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1, 2, 4
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 227.
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Thou ling'ring star" [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 (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Highland Mary", JHW. XXXII/3 no. 170, Hob. XXXIa no. 159, stanzas 1,2,4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Guido, Freiherr von Bülow (1830 - 1894) ; composed by Hans Guido, Freiherr von Bülow.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-02
Line count: 32
Word count: 202