Wiegenlied aus den schottischen Highlands | Schlaf mein süßer, kleiner Donald

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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Translation © by Bertram Kottmann

The Highland Balou

Language: Scottish (Scots)

Our translations: ENG FRE GER

Hee Balou, my sweet wee Donald,
Picture o' the great Clanronald!
Brawlie kens our wanton Chief
What gat my young Highland thief.
(Hee Balou!)

Leeze me on thy bonnie craigie!
And thou live, thou'll steal a naigie,
Travel the country thro' and thro' ,
and bring hame a Carlisle cow!

Thro' the Lawlands, o'er the Border,
Weel, my babie, may thou furder!
Herry the louns o' the laigh Countrie,
Syne to the Highlands hame to me!

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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The Highland Balou", op. 41 no. 2, from A Charm of Lullabies, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Hochländisches Wiegenlied" ; composed by Heinrich von Sahr, Robert Schumann.

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

CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ukolébavka"
ENG English (David K. Smythe) , "The Highland lullaby", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (David K. Smythe) , copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "Wiegenlied aus den schottischen Highlands", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: David K. Smythe

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 13
Word count: 76

Wiegenlied aus den schottischen Highlands

Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)

Schlaf mein süßer, kleiner Donald,
gleichst den Großen des Clanronald!
Unser wilder Chef weiß gut,
dass in dir fließt Diebesblut.

Lieb sind mir dein Hals und Kragen!
Bist du groß, dann wirst du’s wagen:
ziehst durch die Lande immerzu,
stiehlst ein Fohlen und ’ne Kuh.

Unbemerkt nach England dringen,
gut, mein Kind, mög’s dir gelingen!
Plündre die Lowlands, zerstör’ ihr Glück;
dann kehr zu mir in die Highlands zurück!

Text Authorship:

Singable translation from Scottish (Scots) to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2015 by Bertram Kottmann, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Bertram Kottmann. Contact: BKottmann (AT) t-online.de
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2015-09-09
Line count: 12
Word count: 69