Der kecke Finlay | Wer ist vor meiner Kammerthür?

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858)

Wha is that at my bower‑door?"

Language: Scottish (Scots)

Our translations: HUN

"Wha is that at my bower-door?"
"O wha is it but Findlay!"
"Then gae your gate, ye'se nae be here:"
"Indeed maun I," quo' Findlay;
"What mak' ye, sae like a thief?"
"O come and see," quo' Findlay;
"Before the morn ye'll work mischief:"
"Indeed will I," quo' Findlay.

"Gif I rise and let you in"-
"Let me in," quo' Findlay;
"Ye'll keep me waukin wi' your din;"
"Indeed will I," quo' Findlay;
"In my bower if ye should stay"-
"Let me stay," quo' Findlay;
"I fear ye'll bide till break o' day;"
"Indeed will I," quo' Findlay.

"Here this night if ye remain"-
"I'll remain," quo' Findlay;
"I dread ye'll learn the gate again;"
"Indeed will I," quo' Findlay.
"What may pass within this bower"-
"Let it pass," quo' Findlay;
"Ye maun conceal till your last hour:"
"Indeed will I," quo' Findlay.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• F. Scott

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Glossary
maun = must
bide = remain
waukin = awake
din = noise
ken = know

Text Authorship:

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Indeed will I, quo' Findlay", first published 1783 [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 Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Wha is that at my bower-door?", published 1939 [ low voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 5, no. 6, Bayley & Ferguson; confirmed with Songs of Francis George Scott, selected and edited by Neil Mackay, Roberton Publications, Aylesbury 1980, page 96. [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876) ; composed by Carl Loewe, Eusebius Mandyczewski.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Der kecke Finlay" ; composed by Robert Schumann.
Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) ; composed by Georgiy Vasil'yevich Sviridov.
Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Gustaf Fröding (1860 - 1911) ; composed by Emil Sjögren.
Also set in Swiss German (Schwizerdütsch), a translation by August Corrodi (1826 - 1885) ; composed by Friedrich Niggli.

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

CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Kdo do komůrky mé by rád?"
HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , "Ki vagy te ott a kert alatt?", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 143

Wer ist vor meiner Kammerthür?

Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)

Our translations: DUT ENG ENG FRE

Wer ist vor meiner Kammerthür? --
    "Ich bin es," -- sagte Finlay. --
Geh, pack' dich fort! was suchst du hier? --
    "Gar Süßes!" -- sagte Finlay --
Du kommst im Dunkeln, wie ein Dieb. --
    "So fang mich!" -- sagte Finlay. --
Du hast mich wohl ein wenig lieb? --
     "Von Herzen!" -- sagte Finlay. --

Und öffnet' ich nach deinem Sinn --
    "O öffne!" -- flehte Finlay --
Da wär ja Schlaf und Ruhe hin; --
    "Laß hin sein!" -- sagte Finlay. --
Ein Tauber du im Taubenschlag! --
    "Beim Täubchen!" -- sagte Finlay. --
Du girrtest bis zum hellen Tag. --
    "Wohl möglich!" -- sagte Finlay. --

Nein! nimmer lass' ich dich herein! --
    "Thu's dennoch!" -- flehte Finlay --
Du stelltest wohl dich täglich ein? --
    "Mit Freuden!" -- sagte Finlay --
Wie keck du bist und was du wagst! --
    "So darf ich?" -- fragte Finlay --
Daß du's nur keiner Seele sagst! --
    "Gewiß nicht!" -- sagte Finlay. --

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• R. Schumann

About the headline (FAQ)

View text with all available footnotes

Confirmed with Robert Burns’ Gedichte, deutsch von W. Gerhard, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth., 1840, page2 161-162

Text Authorship:

by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Der kecke Finlay" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Indeed will I, quo' Findlay", first published 1783
- 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):

by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Unterm Fenster", op. 34 (Vier Duette) no. 3 (1840), published 1841 [ duet for soprano and tenor with piano ], Leipzig, Klemm [sung text checked 1 time]

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

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2003-11-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 141