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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation Singable translation by Georg Pertz (1830 - 1870)

Duncan Gray cam here to woo
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
Our translations:  FRE
Duncan Gray cam here to woo,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
On blythe Yule night when we were fu',
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Maggie coost her head fu' high,
Look'd asklent and unco skiegh,
Gart poor Duncan stand abiegh;
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

Duncan fleech'd, and Duncan pray'd;
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Meg was deaf as Ailsa craig,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Duncan sigh'd baith out and in,
Grat his een baith bleer't an' blin',
Spak o' lowpin o'er a linn;
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

Time and Chance are but a tide,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Slighted love is sair to bide,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Shall I, like a fool, quoth he,
For a haughty hizzie die?
She may gae to - France for me!
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

How it comes let Doctors tell
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Meg grew sick as he grew heal,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Something in her bosom wrings,
For a relief a sigh she brings;
And O ! her een, they spak sic things!
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

Duncan was a lad o' grace,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Maggie's was a piteous case,
  (Ha, ha, the wooing o't !)
Duncan could na be her death,
Swelling Pity smoor'd his Wrath;
Now they're crouse and canty baith,
  Ha, ha, the wooing o't !

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   L. Beethoven 

L. Beethoven sets stanzas 1, 3-5

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 272.


Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Duncan Grey" [author's text checked 2 times 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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Duncan Gray", WoO. 156 (12 Scottish Songs) no. 2, G. 227 no. 2, published 1818, stanzas 1,3-5 [ vocal trio, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "Duncan Gray", arrangement [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Humphrey Procter-Gregg (1895 - 1980), "Duncan Gray" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in Swiss German (Schwizerdütsch), a translation by August Corrodi (1826 - 1885) ; composed by Friedrich Niggli.
      • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Dunkan"
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Duncan Gray", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz) , "Duncan Gray"


Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 238

Duncan Gray
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the Scottish (Scots) 
 Duncan Gray ging aus zu frein,
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!
 Christmas traf uns froh neim Wein
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!
 Maggie trotzt, dreht schnippisch um,
 Rümoft ihr Näschen, stellt sich dumm,
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!

 Zeit und Glück hat Ebb' und Flut,
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!
 Währt verschmähter Liebe Glut?
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!
 Duncan sprach: Erdolcht'ich mich
 Um solch Gänschen? Lächerlich!
 Trolle sie zum Blocksberg sich!
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!

 Sag' ein Doktor mir den Grund,
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!
 Sie ward krank und er gesund,
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!
 Irgendetwas drückt ihr Herz,
 Schmachtend seufzt sie himmelwärts,
 Und ihr Auge irrt im Schmerz,
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!

 Duncans Herz war nicht von Stein,
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!
 Mochte Maggies Tod nicht sein,
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!
 Duncan, der kein Mörder war,
 Führt versöhnt sie zum Altar –
 Längst sind sie ein glücklich Paar!
 Ha, ha, die Freierei!

Text Authorship:

  • Singable translation by Georg Pertz (1830 - 1870), "Duncan Gray" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Duncan Grey"
    • 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: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2006-06-11
Line count: 31
Word count: 150

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