O how can I be blythe and glad,
Or how can I gang brisk and braw,
When the bonie lad that I lo'e best
Is o'er the hills and far awa ?
It's no the frosty winter wind,
It's no the driving drift and snaw;
But aye the tear comes in my e'e,
To think on him that's far awa.
My father pat me frae his door,
My friends they hae disown'd me a';
But I hae ane will tak my part,
The bonie lad that's far awa.
A pair o' glooves he bought to me,
And silken snoods he gae me twa;
And I will wear them for his sake,
The bonie lad that's far awa.
O, weary Winter soon will pass,
And Spring will cleed the birken shaw;
And my young babie will be born,
And he'll be hame that's far awa !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 234.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The Bonie Lad That's Far Awa", written 1788 [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "O how can I be blythe and glad", op. 108 (25 schottische Lieder mit Begleitung von Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncello) no. 14 (1815) [ voice, violin, violoncello, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), adapted by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846) , no title ; composed by Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, Felix Mendelssohn.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Weit, weit!" [an adaptation] ; composed by Robert Schumann.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ten hodný hoch"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le joli garçon qui est au loin", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "O wie kann ich wohl fröhlich sein"
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2004-08-03
Line count: 20
Word count: 143
Wie kann ich froh und lustig seyn, Wie kann ich geh'n mit Band und Straus? Wenn der herz'ge [Jung]1, der mir so lieb, Ist über die Berge weit hinaus? 'S ist nicht der frost'ge Winterwind, 'S ist nicht der Schnee und Sturm und Graus, Doch immer kommen mir Thränen in's Aug', Denk ich an ihn, der weit hinaus. Mein Vater wies mich von der Thür, Die Freunde stießen mich aus dem Haus, Doch Einer, weiß ich, nimmt mich auf, Der herz'ge [Jung]2, der weit hinaus. Ein Paar neue Handschuh' gab er mir, Und seidne Bänder und 'nen Strauß, Und ich will tragen sie um ihn, Den herz'gen Jung, der weit hinaus. Der lange Winter [geht]3 vorbei, Der Frühling putzt die Birken aus, [Mein süßes Kind wird geboren seyn, Und er kommt]4 heim, der weit hinaus.
F. Mendelssohn sets stanzas 1-2, 5
F. Jähns sets stanzas 1-3, 5
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Gedichte von Robert Burns. Übersetzt von Philipp Kaufmann, Stuttgart und Tübingen, Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1839, page 52.
Note: contemporary German would change the following spellings: "seyn" -> "sein", "Straus" -> "Strauss", "Thränen" -> "Tränen", "Thür" -> "Tür", etc.
1 Mendelssohn, Jähns: "Junge"2 Jähns: "Junge"
3 Mendelssohn: "ist"
4 Jähns: "Es grünt und blüht und lacht der Mai,/ Und er kommt"; Mendelssohn: "Es grünt und blüht und lacht der Mai,/ Dann kehrt er"
Text Authorship:
- by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The Bonie Lad That's Far Awa", written 1788
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns (1809 - 1888), no title, stanzas 1-3,5, from Schottische Lieder und Gesänge mit Begleitung des Piano-Forte, gedichtet von Robert Burns, übersetzt von Philipp Kaufmann, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "Wie kann ich froh und lustig sein?", stanzas 1-2,5 [ vocal duet for 2 sopranos with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Com puc estar contenta i alegre?", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "Hoe kan ik blij en vrolijk zijn?", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Tinelot Wittermans) , "How can I be happy and gay?", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Comment puis-je être heureuse et gaie ?", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HEB Hebrew (עברית) [singable] (Ada Lewinsky) , "איך יהיה ליבי רונן", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Tinelot Wittermans , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 141