by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
How lang and dreary is the night See original
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: FRE
...
When I think on the happy days
I spent wi' you, my Dearie;
And now what lands between us lie,
How can I be but eerie?
For oh, &c.
How slow ye move, ye heavy hours;
As ye were wae and weary
It was na sae ye glinted by,
When I was wi' my Dearie!
For oh, &c.
Note: the Burns text appears in the White score as if it is a translation of this German text (or vice versa), but although they are both set to the same music, they are unrelated textually.
Glossary:
Eerie = affected with fear or dread
Window'd = widowed
Glinted = passed quickly like a transient gleam
Composition:
- Set to music by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "How lang and dreary is the night", published 1885, stanzas 3,4 [ voice and piano ], from Album of German Songs (later published as Sixteen German Songs), no. 15, London: Stanley Lucas, Weber & Col.; also reprinted by Recital Publications (Texas) in 1995
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Song -- How lang and dreary is the night"
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Jak dlouhá, smutná je ta noc"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Comme la nuit est longue et maussade", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 109