The birks of Aberfeldy | Bonie lassie, will ye go

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Bonie lassie, will ye go

Language: Scottish (Scots)

Our translations: FRE

Bonie lassie, will ye go,
Will ye go, will ye go,
Bonie lassie, will ye go
To the birks of Aberfeldy?
Now simmer blinks on flow'ry braes,
And o'er the chrystal streamlet plays;
Come let us spend the lightsome days
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

Bonie lassie, &c.
The little birdies blythely sing,
While o'er their heads the hazels hing,
Or lightly flit on wanton wing
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

Bonie lassie, &c.
The braes ascend like lofty wa's,
The foaming stream deep roaring fa's,
O'er-hung wi' fragrant spreading shaws,
The birks of Aberfeldy.

Bonie lassie, &c.
The hoary cliffs are crown'd wi' flowers,
White o'er the linns the burnie pours,
And rising weets wi' misty showers
The birks of Aberfeldy.

Bonie lassie, &c.
Let Fortune's gifts at random flee,
They ne'er shall draw a wish frae me,
Supremely blest wi' love and thee
In the birks of Aberfeldy.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• H. Abrams

H. Abrams sets stanzas 1, 5

About the headline (FAQ)

GLOSSARY

Birks = birch trees
Braes = hillsides
Shaws = woody groves by a water side
Linns = waterfalls

Text Authorship:

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) [author's text not yet checked 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 Harriet Abrams (1760 - 1825), "Birks of Aberfeldy", published c1795, stanzas 1,5 [ three-part chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "The birks of Abergeldie", JHW XXXII/3 no. 237, Hob. XXXIa no. 58bis [sung text checked 1 time]
by Henri Tomasi (1901 - 1971), "The birks of Aberfeldy", published 1938 [ high voice and piano ], from Chansons écossaises, no. 3, Éd. Henry Lemoine, also set in French (Français) [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in French (Français), a translation by René Talba ; composed by Henri Tomasi.

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

CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Bílé břízy"

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2009-12-29
Line count: 28
Word count: 150