Ca' the yowes to the knowes | Ca' the yowes tae the knowes

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Ca' the yowes tae the knowes

Language: Scottish (Scots)

Our translations: FRE

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.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• B. Britten • R. Vaughan Williams

B. Britten sets stanzas 1-4
R. Vaughan Williams sets stanzas 1-2, 4-5

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) [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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Ca' the yowes", stanzas 1-4 [sung text checked 1 time]
by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011), "Ca' the yowes to the knowes", op. 213 no. 6, published 1993 [ mixed chorus and orchestra ], from A Burns Sequence, no. 6, London : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Ca' the yowes to the knowes", published 1947 [ voice and piano ], from The Arnold Book of Old Songs, no. 8, London, Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Ca' the yowes", 1922, stanzas 1-2,4-5 [sung text checked 1 time]

Set in a modified version by Joseph Haydn, Maurice Johnson.

Go to the text. [ view differences ] FRE GER

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 107