Ô, il était beau l'églantier là-bas

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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Translation © by Pierre Mathé

O bonie was yon rosy brier

Language: Scottish (Scots)

Our translations: FRE

O bonie was yon rosy brier
That blooms sae far frae haunt o' man,
And bonie she, and ah how dear!
It shaded frae the ev'ning sun !

Yon rose-buds in the morning dew,
How pure, amang the leaves sae green !
But purer was the lover's vow
They witness'd in their shade yestreen.

All in its rude and prickly bower,
That crimson rose how sweet and fair !
But love is far a sweeter flow'r
Amid life's thorny path o' care.

The pathless wild, and wimpling burn,
Wi' Chloris in my arms, be mine,
And I the warld nor wish nor scorn,
Its joys and griefs alike resign !

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 291.

Glossary: wimpling = meandering

Text Authorship:

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Yon rosy brier" [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 wee, wee man", Hob. XXXIa:124bis, JHW XXXII/3 no. 198 [sung text checked 1 time]

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

CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ó krásný onen šípek byl"
FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2008-06-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 106

Ô, il était beau l'églantier là‑bas

Language: French (Français) after the Scottish (Scots)

Ô, il était beau l'églantier là-bas
Qui fleurit si loin de la maison de l'homme,
Et elle était belle et ô combien chère !
Il donnait de l'ombre au soleil du soir !

Dans la rosée du matin là-bas ces boutons de roses,
Comme ils sont purs, parmi les feuilles si vertes !
Mais plus pur était le serment de l'amant
Dont fut témoin leur ombre hier au soir.

Dans son épineux et grossier berceau,
Comme était belle et douce cette rose pourpre !
Mais l'amour est une fleur bien plus douce
Au milieu de l'épineux chemin des soucis de la vie.

Désert sans route, méandres des rivières,
Avec Chloris dans mes bras, soyez à moi,
Et je ne désirerais ni ne mépriserais le monde
Et renoncerais aussi à ses joies et ses chagrins !

About the headline (FAQ)

Title "Yon rosy brier" = "L'églantier là-bas"

Text Authorship:

Translation from Scottish (Scots) to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Yon rosy brier"
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2014-11-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 130