by
Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
The Catrine woods were yellow seen
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Available translation(s): FRE
The Catrine woods were yellow seen,
The flowers decay'd on Catrine lea ;
Nae lav'rock sang on hillock green,
But Nature sicken'd on the e'e ;
Thro' faded groves Maria sang,
Hersel' in beauty's bloom the while,
And ay the wild-wood echoes rang : —
“Fareweel the braes of Ballochmyle.
Low in your wintry beds, ye flowers,
Again ye'll flourish fresh and fair;
Ye birdies dumb, in with'ring bowers,
Again ye'll charm the vocal air.
But here, alas! for me nae mair
Shall birdie charm, or flowret smile :
Fareweel the bonnie banks of Ayr !
Fareweel ! fareweel sweet Ballochmyle!”
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 225.
GLOSSARY
Lea = grassy pasture;
Lav'rock = lark;
Braes = hillsides
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, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title unknown, 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: 2011-09-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 101
On voyait les bois jaunes de Catrine
Language: French (Français)  after the Scottish (Scots)
On voyait les bois jaunes de Catrine,
Les fleurs se flétrissaient sur la prairie de Catrine ;
Aucune alouette ne chantait sur la verte colline,
Mais la nature semblait s'étioler ;
Maria chantait dans les bois mourants,
Elle-même à ce moment dans la fleur de sa beauté,
Et toujours les échos du bois inhabité disaient :
« Adieu, coteaux de Ballochmyle.
Fleurs au fond de vos lits hivernaux,
Vous refleurirez, fraîches et belles ;
Oiseaux muets dans vos berceaux fanés,
Vous charmerez encore l'air de vos vocalises.
Mais ici, hélas ! Pour moi plus jamais
Les oiseaux ne charmeront, les fleurs ne souriront :
Adieu, belle rives de l'Ayr !
Adieu ! Adieu aimable Ballochmyle ! »
About the headline (FAQ)
Translation of the title "The braes o' Ballochmyle" = "Les coteaux de Ballochmyle"
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), "The braes o' Ballochmyle"
This text was added to the website: 2014-11-24
Line count: 16
Word count: 117