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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912)

The happy trio
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
Our translations:  FRE
O Willie brew'd a peck o' maut,
  And Rob and Allan cam to see;
Three blyther hearts, that lee lang night,
  Ye wad na found in Christendie.

         Chorus:
We are na fou, we're [nae]1 that fou,
  But just a drappie in our e'e;
The cock may craw, the day may daw,
  And ay we'll taste the barley bree.

Here are we met, three merry boys,
  Three merry boys I trow are we;
And mony a night we've merry been,
  And mony mae we hope to be!
    We are na fou, we're nae that fou...

It is the moon, I ken her horn,
  That 's blinkin in the lift sae hie;
She shines sae bright to wyle us hame,
  But by my sooth she'll wait a wee!
    We are na fou, we're nae that fou...

Wha first shall rise to gang awa,
  A cuckold, coward loun is he!
Wha first beside his chair shall fa',
  He is the king amang us three!
    We are na fou, we're nae that fou...

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   J. Haydn 

View original text (without footnotes)
1 Haydn: "no"
Glossary

Maut = dry measure of malt
Lee lang = live-long
We are na fou = we are not drunk
Drappy = little drop
Bree = ale
Lift = sky
Wyle = entice
Loun = ragamuffin

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) [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 happy trio", Hob. XXXIa:243, JHW. XXXII/3 no. 260 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]

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

  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Veselá trojice"
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le joyeux trio", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 170

Veselá trojice
Language: Czech (Čeština)  after the Scottish (Scots) 
Ó Willie načal soudeček
   a Rob i Allan byl tu hned,
v tu noc po celém křesťanstvu
   žeť lepších brachů nevidět.

   Nám žízeň hrdlo potrhá
      a proto třeba pivo ctít,
   i ať si kohout kokrhá
      a den se dní, my budem pít!

My jsme tři hoši veselí,
   tři statní hoši z Mokrovic,
my probili tak mnohou noc
   a doufáme jich probít víc.

Hle, měsíček je vysoko,
   já znám ten jeho bílý roh,
chce na mou čest nás domů vést,
   to by si ještě počkat moh'.

Zván lotr buď a dareba,
   kdo od korbele první vstal;
kdo poslední pad' pod židli,
   ten trojice je naší král!

   Nám žízeň hrdlo potrhá
      a proto třeba pivo ctít,
   i ať si kohout kokrhá
      a den se dní, my budem pít!

Confirmed with BURNS, Robert. Výbor z písní a ballad, translated by Josef Václav Sládek, Praha: J. Otto, 1892.


Text Authorship:

  • by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912), "Veselá trojice" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

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

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-08-12
Line count: 24
Word count: 126

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This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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