by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Had I a cave
Language: English
Our translations: FRE
Had I a cave On some wild distant shore, Where the winds howl To the wave's dashing roar, There would I weep my woes, There seek my lost repose. Till grief my eyes should close, Ne'er to wake more! Falsest of womankind, Can'st thou declare All thy fond, plighted vows Fleeting as air? To thy new lover hie. Laugh o'er thy perjury, Then in thy bosom try What peace is there!
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 280.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Had I a cave" [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), "Robin Adair", Hob. XXXIa:202, JHW XXXII/3 no. 235 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Wood (1866 - 1926), "Had I a cave", 1884 [ voice and piano or orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Kdybych měl jeskyni"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor] , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 71