O, luve will venture in where it daur na weel be seen ! O, luve will venture in where wisdom ance has been ! But I will down yon river rove among the wood sae green, And a' to pu' a posie to my ain dear May ! The primrose I will pu', the firstling o' the year, And I will pu' the pink, the emblem o' my dear, For she's the pink o' womankind and blooms without a peer — And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May ! I'll pu' the budding rose when Phoebus peeps in view, For its like a baumy kiss o' her sweet bonnie mou'. The hyacinth's for constancy, wi' its unchanging blue — And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May ! The lily it is pure, and the lily it is fair, And in her lovely bosom I'll place the lily there. The daisy's for simplicity and unaffected air — And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May ! The hawthorn I will pu', wi' its locks o' siller gray, Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o' day; But the songster's nest within the bush I winna tak away — And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May ! The woodbine I will pu' when the e'ening star is near, And the di'mond draps o' dew shall be her een sae clear ! The violet's for modesty, which weel she fa's to wear — And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May. I'll tie the posie round wi' the silken band o' luve, And I'll place it in her breast, and I'll swear by a' above, That to my latest [draught]1 o' life the band shall ne'er remove: And this will be a posie to my ain dear May.
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1-4, 6
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 242.
GLOSSARY : daur = dare
Haydn uses the spellings "abuve" and "remuve" in the final stanza.1 Haydn: "breath"
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The posie" [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), "The posie", Hob. XXXIa no. 113, JHW. XXXII/2 no. 113, stanzas 1-4,6 [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) , "Das Sträußchen" ; composed by Heinrich August Marschner.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Georg Pertz (1830 - 1870) , "Das Sträußchen" ; composed by Heinrich Esser, Otto Tiehsen.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le bouquet", 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: 2013-03-25
Line count: 28
Word count: 315
Was wagte Liebe nicht In alt und neuer Zeit? Wo schlägt ein Herz, dem nicht Die Liebe Muth verleiht? Ich geh den klaren Bach entlang In stiller Einsamkeit, Und pflücke mir ein Sträußchen Für meine holde Maid. Die Primel pflück' ich dort Im sammtnen Frühlingskleid, Und auch die Nelke mir, Die süßen Duft verstreut. Der Nelke gleicht mein Liebchen selbst, Das Leib und Seel' erfreut; Ein Sträußchen will ich pflücken Für meine holde Maid. Die Rose pflück' ich mir In Thaues Herrlichkeit, Wie Liebchens Lippe keusch, Durch Frevler nie entweiht. Und würzge Hyazinthe, blau Wie die Beständigkeit - Und allesammt zum Sträußchen Für meine holde Maid. Der Lilie Glanz ist rein Und leuchtet fern und weit: Sie schirm' - ein Talisman - Den Busen ihr vor Leid! Und du auch, Veilchen, schmiege dich, Bild ihrer Sittsamkeit, Mit reichem Duft in's Sträußchen Der vielgeliebten Maid! Noch eine Blume fehlt: Dann halte dich bereit! - Die Silberblüthe dort, Die mir der Weißdorn beut. - Bangt, Vöglein, nicht im warmen Nest: Ich thu' euch nichts zu Leid'! - Und nun - nun wandre, Sträußchen, Zu meiner holden Maid!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Robert Burns' Gedichte, deutsch von W. Gerhard, Mit des Dichters Leben und erläuternden Bemerkungen, Leipzig, 1840, pages 181-182.
Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Das Sträußchen" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The posie"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Was wagte Liebe nicht", op. 107 no. 3, published 1841 [soprano or tenor and piano], from Robert Burns Lieder für Tenor oder Sopran, no. 3, Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2015-05-04
Line count: 40
Word count: 185