by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
She's fair and fause
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Available translation(s): FRE
She's fair and fause that causes my smart ; I lo'ed her meikle and lang; She's broken her vow, she's broken my heart ; And I may e'en gae hang. A coof cam in wi' routh o' gear, And I ha'e tint my dearest dear; But women is but warld's gear, Sae let the bonny lass gang ! Wha'er ye be that woman love, To this be never blind : Nae ferlie 'tis tho' fickle she prove, A woman has't by kind. O woman, lovely woman fair! An angel's form's fa'n to thy share; 'Twad been o'er meikle to gi'en thee mair, I mean, an angel's mind.
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 249.
GLOSSARY
Meikle = much
Coof = fool, simpleton
Routh = abundance
Gear = money, property
Tint = lost
Ferlie = wonder
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "She's fair and fause" [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), "She's fair and fause", Hob. XXXIa no. 121, JHW. XXXII/2 no. 121. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title 1: "Elle est belle et fausse", 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: 2013-03-28
Line count: 16
Word count: 107