by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876)
O wert thou in the cauld blast
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: FRE
O wert thou in the cauld blast On yonder lea, on yonder lea, My plaidie to the angry airt, I'd shelter thee, I'd shelter thee. Or did Misfortune's bitter storms Around thee blaw, around thee blaw, Thy bield should be my bosom To share it a', to share it a'. Or were I in the wildest waste, Sae black and bare, sae black and bare, The desert were a Paradise If thou wert there, if thou wert there. Or were I monarch of the globe, Wi' thee to reign, wi' thee to reign, The brightest jewel in my crown Wad be my queen, wad be my queen.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, edited by James Barke with an Introduction by John Cairney, Collins, Glasgow, 1995, Page 698.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Oh wert thou in the cauld blast" [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 Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), as Henry Hugo Pearson, "Love", published 1842 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Lieder von Freiligrath nach R. Burns, no. 5, Leipzig, Kistner, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "O, wert thou in the cauld blast", published 1949 [ voice and piano ], from 35 Scottish Lyrics and other Poems, no. 15, Bayley & Ferguson for The Saltire Society, Glasgow, page 61 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876) , no title, appears in Gedichte, in Robert Burns. Elf Lieder [later 13 Lieder], no. 3 ; composed by Robert Franz, Adolf Jensen, Carl Kloberg, Heinrich August Marschner, Felix Mendelssohn, Henry Hugo Pierson, as Henry Hugo Pearson, Rudolf Schneider, Felix von Woyrsch.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846) ; composed by Wilhelm Eckardt.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) ; composed by Moritz Hauptmann.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Heinrich Leuthold (1827 - 1879) , "O wenn um dich auf kahler Haid" ; composed by Wilhelm Reinhard Berger, Wilhelm Sturm.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) ; composed by Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov, Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, Georgiy Vasil'yevich Sviridov.
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Hugo Alfvén.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "O, kdybys mraznou vichřicí…"
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (József Lévay) , "Oh, ha járnál ott a pusztán..."
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 108
O säh ich auf der Heide dort
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)
O säh ich auf der Heide dort Im Sturme dich, im Sturme dich! Mit meinem Mantel vor dem Sturm Beschützt' ich dich, beschützt' ich dich! Und wär' mit seinen Stürmen dir Das Unglück nah, das Unglück nah, Dann wär dies Herz dein Zufluchtsort, Gern teilt' ich ja, gern teilt' ich ja. O wär ich in der Wüste, die So braun und dürr, so braun und dürr, Zum Paradiese würde sie, Wärst du bei mir, wärst du bei mir. Und wär ein König ich, und wär Die Erde mein, die Erde mein, Du wärst an meiner Krone doch Der schönste Stein, der schönste Stein!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with Gedichte von Ferdinand Freiligrath, 7. Aufl., Stuttgart und Tübingen, 1844.
Text Authorship:
- by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876), no title, appears in Gedichte, in Robert Burns. Elf Lieder [later 13 Lieder], no. 3 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Oh wert thou in the cauld blast"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "O säh ich auf der Heide dort", op. 1 (Zwölf Gesänge) no. 5, published 1843 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Whistling [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Jensen (1837 - 1879), "O säh ich auf der Heide dort", op. 49 no. 6, published 1874 [ voice and piano ], from Sieben Lieder von Robert Burns, no. 6, Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Kloberg , "O säh' ich auf der Haide dort", op. 2 (Vier Quartette für Männerstimmen) no. 3, published 1879 [ vocal quartet for male voices a cappella ], Leipzig, Leuckart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "O, säh' ich auf der Haide dort ", op. 103 ([Sieben] Lieder nach Rob. Burns von F. Freiligrath für Sopran oder Tenor) no. 2, published 1838 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Mainz, Schott [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847), "Volkslied", op. 63 (Sechs Duette) no. 5 (1842) [ duet for 2 sopranos with piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), as Henry Hugo Pearson, "Liebe", published 1842 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Lieder von Freiligrath nach R. Burns, no. 5, Leipzig, Kistner, also set in Scottish (Scots) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rudolf Schneider , "Volkslied", op. 4 (5 Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1901 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Ries & Erler [sung text not yet checked]
- by Felix von Woyrsch (1860 - 1944), "O säh' ich auf der Haide dort im Sturme dich", op. 3 (Drei Lieder für Bariton mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1884 [ baritone voice and piano ], Hamburg, Cranz [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Siân Goldthorpe , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 108