O Thou Great Being! what Thou art, Surpasses me to know; Yet sure I am, that known to Thee Are all Thy works below. Thy creature here before Thee stands, All wretched and distrest; Yet sure those ills that wring my soul Obey Thy high behest. Sure, Thou, Almighty, canst not act From cruelty or wrath! O, free my weary eyes from tears, Or close them fast in death! But, if I must afflicted be, To suit some wise design, Then man my soul with firm resolves, To bear and not repine!
A Burns Sequence
Song Cycle by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011)
1. Prayer under the pressure of violent anguish  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "A prayer under the pressure of violent anguish"
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Modlitba"
2. Raging fortune  [sung text not yet checked]
O raging Fortune's withering blast Has laid my leaf full low, O! O raging Fortune's withering blast Has laid my leaf full low, O! My stem was fair, my bud was green, My blossom sweet did blow, O! The dew fell fresh, the sun rose mild, And made my branches grow, O! But luckless Fortune's northern storms Laid a' my blossoms low, O! But luckless Fortune's northern storms Laid a' my blossoms low, O!
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Song -- Raging Fortune: A Fragment"
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ó krutě vichr osudu"
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Mikhail Larionovich Mikhailov) , "Злая судьба", first published 1856
3. My luve is like a red, red rose  [sung text not yet checked]
O my [Luve's]1 like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in June: O my [Luve's]1 like the melodie That's sweetly play'd in tune. As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, [So]2 deep in luve am I: And I will luve thee still, my dear, Till a' the seas gang dry: Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi' the sun; I will luve thee still, my dear, While the sands o' life shall run. And fare thee weel, my only Luve! And fare thee weel a while! And I will come again, my Luve, Tho' it were ten thousand mile.
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- SWG Swiss German (Schwizerdütsch) (August Corrodi) , "Min schatz ist wienes Röseli", first published 1870
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Má milá jest jak růžička"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , "Η π’ αγαπώ ’ναι ρόδο ροζ", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (József Lévay) , "Szerelmem, mint piros rózsa..."
- IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Note: due to a similarity in first lines, Berg's song O wär' mein Lieb' jen' Röslein roth is often erroneously indicated as a translation of this poem.
1 Beach and Scott: "Luve is"; Bacon: "love's"2 Scott: "Sae"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
4. Will ye go to the Indies, my Mary?  [sung text not yet checked]
Will ye go to the Indies, my Mary, And leave auld Scotia's shore? Will ye go to the Indies, my Mary, Across th' Atlantic roar? O sweet grows the lime and the orange, And the apple on the pine; But a' the charms o' the Indies Can never equal thine. I hae sworn by the Heavens to my Mary, I hae sworn by the Heavens to be true; And sae may the Heavens forget me, When I forget my vow! O plight me your faith, my Mary, And plight me your lily-white hand; O plight me your faith, my Mary, Before I leave Scotia's strand. We hae plighted our troth, my Mary, In mutual affection to join; And curst be the cause that shall part us! The hour and the moment o' time!
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Song -- Will ye go to the Indies, my Mary?"
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
5. O whistle an'I'll come to you  [sung text not yet checked]
O whistle, and I'll come to ye, my lad, O whistle, and I'll come to ye, my lad; Tho' father, and mother, and a' should gae mad, [Thy Jeanie will venture wi' ye, my lad.]1 But warily tent, when ye come to court me, And come nae unless the back-yett be a-jee; Syne up the back-style and let naebody see, And come as ye were na comin to me - And come as ye were na comin to me. - O whistle, and I'll come to ye, my lad... At kirk, or at market whene'er ye meet me, Gang by me as tho' that ye car'd nae a flie; But steal me a blink o' your bonie black e'e, Yet look as ye were na lookin at me - Yet look as ye were na lookin at me. O whistle, and I'll come to ye, my lad... Ay vow and protest that ye care na for me, And whyles ye may lightly my beauty a wee; But court nae anither, tho' jokin ye be, For fear that she wyle your fancy frae me - For fear that she wyle your fancy frae me. - O whistle, and I'll come to ye, my lad...
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
See other settings of this text.
View original text (without footnotes)1 omitted by Hopekirk
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
6. Ca' the yowes to the knowes  [sung text not yet checked]
Ca' the yowes tae the knowes, Ca' them whar the heather grows, Ca' them whar the burnie rows, My bonnie dearie. Hark, the mavis' e'enin' sang, Soundin' Cluden's woods amang; Then a fauldin' let us gang, My bonnie dearie. We'll gang down by Clouden side, Through the hazels spreading wide O'er the waves that sweetly glide To the moon sae clearly. Fair and lovely as thou art, Thou hast stol'n my very heart; I can die, but canna part, My bonnie Dearie. While waters wimple to the sea, While day blinks in the lift sae hie Till death shall blin' my e'e Ye shall be my dearie.
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
7. Macpherson's farewell  [sung text not yet checked]
Farewell, ye dungeons dark and strong, The wretch's destinie! McPherson's1 time will not be long, On yonder gallows-tree. Sae rantingly, sae wantonly, Sae dauntingly gae'd he: He play'd a spring, and danc'd it round Below the gallows-tree. O what is death but parting breath? On many a bloody plain I've dar'd his face, and in this place I scorn him yet again! Sae rantingly, sae wantonly... Untie these bands from off my hands, And bring to me my sword[;]2 And there 's no a man in all Scotland, But I'll brave him at a word. Sae rantingly, sae wantonly... I've liv'd a life of sturt and strife; I die by treacherie: It burns my heart I must depart And not avenged be. Sae rantingly, sae wantonly... Now farewell, light, thou sunshine bright, And all beneath the sky! May coward shame distain his name, The wretch that dares not die! Sae rantingly, sae wantonly...
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), title 1: "McPherson's Farewell", title 2: "Song - M'Pherson’s Farewell"
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Mac Phersonovo loučení"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "L'adieu de McPherson", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
1 in some editions, "M'Pherson"
2 in some editions, ","
sturt = trouble
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
8. Paraphrase of the First Psalm  [sung text not yet checked]
The man, in life wherever plac'd, Hath happiness in store, Who walks not in the wicked's way, Nor learns their guilty lore! Nor from the seat of scornful pride Casts forth his eyes abroad, But with humility and awe Still walks before his God. That man shall flourish like the trees, Which by the streamlets grow; The fruitful top is spread on high, And firm the root below. But he whose blossom buds in guilt Shall to the ground be cast, And, like the rootless stubble, tost Before the sweeping blast. For why? that God the good adore, Hath giv'n them peace and rest, But hath decreed that wicked men Shall ne'er be truly blest.
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Paraphrase of the First Psalm" [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in Latin by Bible or other Sacred Texts , "Psalmus 1"
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]