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

The Highland Lassie, O
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
Nae gentle dames, tho' ne'er sae fair,
Shall ever be my muse's care;
Their titles a' are empty show;
Gie me my Highland Lassie, O.
  Within the glen sae bushy, O;
  Aboon the plain sae rushy, O,
  I set me down wi' right gude will,
  To sing my Highland Lassie, O.

O were yon hills and valleys mine,
Yon palace and yon gardens fine!
The world then the love should know
I bear my Highland Lassie, O.
  Within the glen sae bushy, O;
  Aboon the plain sae rushy, O,
  I set me down wi' right gude will,
  To sing my Highland Lassie, O.

But fickle fortune frowns on me,
And I maun cross the raging sea;
But while my crimson current flow.
I love my Highland Lassie, O.
  Within the glen sae bushy, O;
  Aboon the plain sae rushy, O,
  I set me down wi' right gude will,
  To sing my Highland Lassie, O.

Altho' thro' foreign climes I range,
I know her heart will never change,
For her bosum burns with honor's glow,
My faithful Highland Lassie, O.
  Within the glen sae bushy, O;
  Aboon the plain sae rushy, O,
  I set me down wi' right gude will,
  To sing my Highland Lassie, O.

For her I'll dare the billow's roar;
For her I'll trace a distant shore;
That Indian wealth may lustre throw
Around my Highland Lassie, O.
  Within the glen sae bushy, O;
  Aboon the plain sae rushy, O,
  I set me down wi' right gude will,
  To sing my Highland Lassie, O.

She has my heart, she has my hand,
By secret truth and honor's band!
Till the mortal stroke shall lay me low,
I'm thine, my Highland Lassie, O.
  Within the glen sae bushy, O;
  Aboon the plain sae rushy, O,
  I set me down wi' right gude will,
  To sing my Highland Lassie, O.

Farewell the glen sae bushy, O!
Farewell the plain sae rushy, O!
To other lands I now must go
To sing my Highland Lassie, O!

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The Highland Lassie, O" [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):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Das Hochlandmädchen" [an adaptation] ; composed by Robert Schumann.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846) , "Nein, edle Damen, noch so schön", appears in Gedichte von Robert Burns, first published 1839 ; composed by Carl Heinrich Döring, Otto Dresel, Robert Emmerich, Robert Franz.
      • Go to the text.

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

  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Děvče z hor"


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-06-29
Line count: 52
Word count: 335

Děvče z hor
Language: Czech (Čeština)  after the Scottish (Scots) 
O květu vzácných dvorských dam
já žádnou píseň nezpívám
jich titulům a lesku vzdor:
mně dejte moje děvče z hor!

Tam na křovité dolině,
tam v rákosité planině,
já sednu v trávu nebo v bor
a zpívám o své dívce z hor.

Ó kdyby můj byl tamten hrad,
ty hory, doly, panský sad,
já všemu světu na úkor
bych miloval své děvče z hor.

Mne ale sudby mračivé
přes moře ženou bouřlivé;
však nežli žití skončí spor,
chci milovati děvče z hor.

Ať od sebe jsme vzdáleni,
mé srdce k ní se nezmění,
neb andělsky je čistý tvor
mé dobré, věrné děvče z hor.

Já pro ni jedu v bouře šleh,
já pro ni hledám dálný břeh,
bych zlatem Indu krásy vzor,
ji, ozdobil, mé děvče z hor.

Má srdce mé a ruku, čest
a dokud slunce všech mých cest
se nenachýlí za obzor,
jsem tvůj, ty moje děvče z hor!

Buď zdráva, stinná dolino,
ty rákositá planino!
Jdu v dál, však budu sudbě vzdor
tam zpívat o své dívce z hor.

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), "Děvče z hor" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The Highland Lassie, O"
    • 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: 2019-08-11
Line count: 32
Word count: 172

Gentle Reminder

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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