The Catrine woods were yellow seen,
The flowers decay'd on Catrine lea ;
Nae lav'rock sang on hillock green,
But Nature sicken'd on the e'e ;
Thro' faded groves Maria sang,
Hersel' in beauty's bloom the while,
And ay the wild-wood echoes rang : —
“Fareweel the braes of Ballochmyle.

Low in your wintry beds, ye flowers,
Again ye'll flourish fresh and fair;
Ye birdies dumb, in with'ring bowers,
Again ye'll charm the vocal air.
But here, alas! for me nae mair
Shall birdie charm, or flowret smile :
Fareweel the bonnie banks of Ayr !
Fareweel ! fareweel sweet Ballochmyle!”

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 225.

GLOSSARY
Lea = grassy pasture;
Lav'rock = lark;
Braes = hillsides

Text Authorship:

• by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The braes o' Ballochmyle" [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 braes of Ballochmyle", Hob. XXXIa no. 226, JHW. XXXII/4 no. 271 (1803). [voice, violin, cello, and piano] [
   text verified 1 time
  ]

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

• FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , title unknown, copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-09-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 95