by
Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Duncan Davison
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Available translation(s): FRE
There was a lass, they ca'd her Meg,
And she gaed o'er the moor to spin;
There was a lad that follow'd her,
They ca'd him Duncan Davison.
The moor was dreigh, and Meg was skeigh,
Her favour Duncan cou'd na win;
For wi' the rock she wad him knock,
And ay she shook the temper pin.
As o'er the moor they lightly foor,
A burn was clear, a glen was green:
Upon the banks they eas'd their shanks,
And ay she set the wheel between;
But Duncan swoor a haly aith,
That Meg shou'd be a bride the morn;
Then Meg took up her spinnin graith,
And flang them a' out o'er the burn.
O! we will big a wee, wee house,
And we will live like king and queen,
Sae blythe and merry's we will be.
When ye set by the wheel at e'en!
A man may drink, and no be drunk;
A man may fight, and no be slain;
A man may kiss a bonny lass,
And ay be welcome back again!
Confirmed with
The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 207.
GLOSSARY
Dreigh = dreary, bleak
Skeigh = proud
Rock = spindle
Temper pin = screw used to control tension on a spinning wheel
Foor = went, travelled
Burn = stream
Swoor a haly aith = swore a holy oath
Graith = gear, tools
Big = build
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Kdys bylo děvče"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Duncan Davison", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2012-08-14
Line count: 24
Word count: 175
Duncan Davison
Language: French (Français)  after the Scottish (Scots)
Il y avait une fille qui s'appelait Meg,
Et qui allait sur la lande pour filer ;
Il y avait un garçon qui la suivait,
Qui s'appelait Duncan Davison.
La lande était sombre et Meg était farouche,
Duncan n'aurait put gagner ses faveurs ;
Car avec la quenouille elle l'aurait assommé,
Et elle agitait sans cesse l'épinglier.
Tandis qu'ils avançaient d'un pas léger sur la lande,
Le ruisseau était clair, le vallon était vert ;
Ils reposèrent leurs jambes sur la berge,
Et elle posa encore le rouet entre eux :
Mais Duncan poussa un sacré juron,
Meg devait être sa femme le matin prochain ;
Alors Meg saisit son rouet et ses outils
Et le jeta par-dessus le ruisseau.
Oh ! Nous construirons une toute petite maison,
Et nous vivrons comme roi et reine,
Tant nous serons gais et joyeux
Quand nous serons assis le soir près du rouet !
Un homme peut boire, et ne pas être ivre ;
Un homme peut combattre et ne pas être tué ;
Un homme peut embrasser une jolie fille
Et être toujours bien accueilli !
Authorship:
- Translation from Scottish (Scots) to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Duncan Davison"
This text was added to the website: 2014-08-05
Line count: 24
Word count: 184