O stay, sweet warbling woodlark, stay, Nor quit me for the trembling spray, A hapless lover courts thy lay, Thy soothing, fond complaining. Again, again that tender part, That I may catch thy melting art; For surely that wad touch her heart Wha kills me wi' disdaining. Say, was thy little mate unkind, And heard thee as the careless wind? Oh, nocht but love and sorrow join'd, Sic notes o' woe could wauken! Thou tells o' never-ending care; O' speechless grief, and dark despair: For pity's sake, sweet bird, nae mair! Or my poor heart is broken.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Works of Robert Burns, Volume VI, Philadelphia, Gebbie & Co., 1886, page 88. Tune: "Loch Erroch Side"; sent to George Thomson in 1798.
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Address to the woodlark", written 1795 [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 Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "O stay, sweet warbling woodlark, stay", published 1895 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by L. G. Silbergleit , "An eine Nachtigall" ; composed by Eyvind Alnæs, Otto Feller, Heinrich Weiß, Hans Weltner.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "An die Waldlerche" ; composed by Ferdinand David.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Slavíku"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-04-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 97
O, singe weiter deinen Sang. Ich säh' dich Vöglein gern noch lang Auf jenem schwanken Zweige. O jenen Schlag nur noch einmal, O lehre den mich, Nachtigall', Damit der Holden ich gefall, Ihr Sinn sich zu mir neige. Sag, war dein Liebchen lieblos auch? War ihre Flamme eitel Rauch, Entlocket doch solch süßen Hauch Nur tiefer Liebe Schmerz. Du sprichst von Tagen freudeleer, Verzweiflungsvoll und kummerschwer. Erbarmen, Vöglein, sing' nicht mehr, Sonst bricht mein armes Herz.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Robert Burns' Lieder und Balladen für deutsche Leser ausgewählt und frei bearbeitet von L.G. Silbergleit, Leipzig: Druck und Verlag von Philipp Reclam jun., [no year], page 62.
Authorship:
- by L. G. Silbergleit , "An eine Nachtigall" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Address to the woodlark", written 1795
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Eyvind Alnæs (1872 - 1932), "An eine Nachtigall", op. 6 (Fünf Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte = Fem Sange til Texter for en Mellemstemme) no. 2, published 1897 [ voice and piano ], Christiania, Warmuth [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Otto Feller (1870 - c1932), "An eine Nachtigall", published 1895 [ voice and piano ], from Perdita. Lieder-Cyklus für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 7, Berlin, Stern & Ollendorff [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Heinrich Weiß (1836 - 1914), "An eine Nachtigall", op. 43 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 5, published 1880 [ voice and piano ], Dresden, Ries [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hans Weltner , "Frühlingsgruss", published 1879 [ voice and piano ], from Vier Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 2, Berlin, Luckhardt [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2017-04-16
Line count: 15
Word count: 76