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Yestreen I met you on the moor,
Ye spake na, but gaed by like stoure !
Ye geck at me because I'm poor,
But fient a hair care I.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day
Ye wadna been sae shy;
For lack o' gear ye lightly me,
But trowth I care na by.
When comin hame on Sunday last,
Upon the road as I cam past,
Ye snufft an' gae your head a cast —
But, trowth, I care't na by !
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
I doubt na, lass, but ye may think,
Because ye hae the name o' clink,
That ye can please me at a wink,
Whene'er ye like to try.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
But sorrow tak' him that's sae mean,
Although his pouch o' coin were clean,
Wha follows ony saucy quean
That looks sae proud and high !
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
Although a lad were e'er sae smart,
If he but want the yellow dirt,
Ye'll cast your head anither airt,
And answer him fu' dry.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
But if he hae the name o' gear,
Ye'll fasten to him like a brier,
Tho' hardly he, for sense or lear,
Be better than the kye.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
But Tibbie, lass, tak' my advice:
Your daddie's gear maks you sae nice,
The deil a ane would speir your price,
Were ye as poor as I.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
There lives a lass in beside yon park,
I'd rather hae her in her sark
Than you wi' a' your thousand mark,
That gars you look sae high.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1, 3-8
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 214.
Glossary
Gear = riches, good of any kind
Lightly = sneer at
I care na by = I am indifferent
Stoure = dust in motion
Geck = mock
Fient = never
Clink = cash
Quean = buxom lass
Airt = place
Lear = learning
Kye = cows
Spear = ask, enquire
Sark = shirt
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "O Tibbie! I hae seen the day" [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), "If a body meet a body", JHW. XXXII/3 no. 195, Hob. XXXIa no. 80bis, stanzas 1,3-8 [sung text checked 1 time]
Another version of this text exists in the database.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ó Tibie, já tě vídal kdys"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour", 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: 2009-09-13
Line count: 43
Word count: 295
Je vous ai rencontrée hier soir sur la lande,
Vous n'avez pas parlé, passé comme une tornade !
Vous me méprisez parce que je suis pauvre,
Mais je m'en soucie comme d'une guigne.
Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour
Où vous n'auriez pas été si farouche !
Pour mon manque d'argent, vous me méprisiez,
Mais en vérité, peu m'importe.
En rentrant à la maison, dimanche dernier,
Quand je passai sur la route,
Vous avez froncé le nez et détourné la tête –
Mais en vérité, peu m'importe.
Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour...
Je ne doute pas, demoiselle, que vous pensez,
Parce que vous portez une réputation de richesse,
Que vous pouvez me plaire au premier coup d'œil,
Dès qu'il vous en prendra l'envie.
Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour...
Mais que le malheur frappe celui qui est assez misérable,
Même si sa poche est sans un sou,
Pour suivre quelque dédaigneuse jeune femme
À l'allure aussi fière et hautaine !
Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour...
Même si un garçon était le plus élégant qui soit,
S'il ne désirait que de la poudre d'or,
Vous tourneriez la tête dans une autre direction
Et lui répondriez très sèchement.
Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour...
Mais s'il avait une réputation de richesse,
Vous vous attacheriez à lui comme une aubépine,
Même si au plan de l'esprit,
Il ferait à peine mieux qu'une vache.
Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour...
Mais Tibbie, ma fille, suivez mon conseil :
La richesse de votre père vous rend si belle
Que le diable lui-même demanderait votre prix,
Même si vous étiez aussi pauvre que moi.
Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour...
Une fille habite là-bas dans le parc,
Je ne l'échangerait pas toute nue sous sa chemise
Contre toi avec tous tes milliers d'écus;
Tu n'as pas besoin de te montrer si hautaine.
Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour...
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Scottish (Scots) to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "O Tibbie! I hae seen the day"
This text was added to the website: 2014-09-22
Line count: 43
Word count: 313