by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

O My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose
 (Sung text for setting by D. Arditti)
 Matches base text
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
Our translations:  FRE GRE IRI
O my Luve's like a red, red rose 
  That's newly sprung in June: 
O my Luve's like the melodie 
  That's sweetly play'd in tune. 

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass, 
  So 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.

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.

Composition:

    Set to music by David Arditti (b. 1964), "O My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose", op. 1 no. 2, first performed 1994, from Burns Songs, no. 2

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: 106