by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876)

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
Our translations:  FRE GRE IRI
O my [Luve's]1 like a red, red rose 
  That's newly sprung in June: 
O my [Luve's]1 like the melodie 
  That's sweetly play'd in tune. 

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, 
  [So]2 deep in luve am I: 
And I will luve thee still, my dear, 
  Till a' the seas gang dry: 

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, 
  And the rocks melt wi' the sun; 
I will luve thee still, my dear, 
  While the sands o' life shall run. 

And fare thee weel, my only Luve! 
  And fare thee weel a while! 
And I will come again, my Luve, 
  Tho' it were ten thousand mile.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)

Note: due to a similarity in first lines, Berg's song O wär' mein Lieb' jen' Röslein roth is often erroneously indicated as a translation of this poem.

1 Beach and Scott: "Luve is"; Bacon: "love's"
2 Scott: "Sae"

Text Authorship:

See other settings of this text.

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

  • SWG Swiss German (Schwizerdütsch) (August Corrodi) , "Min schatz ist wienes Röseli", first published 1870
  • CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Má milá jest jak růžička"
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , "Η π’ αγαπώ ’ναι ρόδο ροζ", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (József Lévay) , "Szerelmem, mint piros rózsa..."
  • IRI Irish (Gaelic) [singable] (Gabriel Rosenstock) , 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 between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 109

Language: German (Deutsch)  after the Scottish (Scots) 
Our translations:  ENG GRE
Mein Lieb ist eine rothe Ros',
Die frisch am Stocke glüht;
Eine rothe, rothe Ros'! mein Lieb
Ist wie ein süßes Lied!

Mein Lieb, so schmuck und schön du bist,
So sehr auch lieb' ich dich;
Bis daß die See verlaufen ist,
Süße Dirne, lieb' ich dich!

Bis daß die See verlaufen ist,
Und der Fels zerschmilzt, mein Kind,
Und stets, mein Lieb, so lang mein Blut
In meinen Adern rinnt!

Leb' wohl, leb' wohl, mein einzig Lieb!
Leb' wohl auf kurze Zeit!
Leb' wohl! ich kehr', und wär' ich auch
Zehntausend Meilen weit!

Composition:

    Set to music by Carl Oberthür (1819 - 1895), "Mein Lieb ist eine rote Ros'"

Text Authorship:

Based on:

See other settings of this text.

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

  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GRE Greek (Ελληνικά) [singable] (Christakis Poumbouris) , "Η π’ αγαπώ ’ν’ τριαντάφυλλο", copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Harry Joelson

This text was added to the website: 2011-03-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 100