by
Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Auld Rob Morris
See originalLanguage: Scottish (Scots)
There's auld Rob Morris that wons in yon glen,
He's the king of gude fellows, and wale of auld men;
He has gowd in his coffers, he has sheep, he has kine,
And ae bonnie lassie, his darling and mine.
She's fresh as the morning, the fairest in May,
She's sweet as the ev'ning amang the new hay;
As blythe and as artless as the lambs on the lea,
And dear to my heart as the light to my e'e.
But oh, she's an heiress, auld Robin's a laird,
And my daddie has nought but a cot-house and yard:
A wooer like me maunna hope to come speed;
The wounds I maun hide which will soon be my dead.
...
O had she but been of a lower degree,
I then might hae hop'd she wad smil'd upon me!
O, how past descriving had then been my bliss,
As now my distraction no words can express!
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,5 of the original text.
See also
this folksong.
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 271.
Glossary
Wons = dwells
Wale = choice
Gowd = gold
Kine = cows
Laird = man of landed property
Cot-house = tied or rented cottage on a farm
Maunna = must not
Descriving = describing
Composition:
Set to music by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Auld Rob Morris", JHW. XXXII/3 no. 184, Hob. XXXIa no. 192, stanzas 1-3,5
Text Authorship:
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Starý Rob Morris"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le vieux Rob Morris", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé
[Guest Editor] This text was added to the website: 2009-09-02
Line count: 20
Word count: 196
Language: French (Français) after the Scottish (Scots)
Il était le vieux Rob Morris qui habitait le vallon là-bas,
C'est le roi des bons gars et le favori des vieilles gens :
Il a de l'or dans ses coffres,il a des moutons, il a des vaches,
Et une jolie fille, sa chérie et la mienne.
Elle est fraîche comme le matin, la plus belle en mai,
Elle est douce comme le soir dans les foins nouveaux,
Aussi gaie et ingénue que les agneaux sur le pré,
Et chère à mon cœur comme la lumière à mes yeux.
Mais hélas c'est une héritière et le vieux Robin habite un manoir,
Et mon papa n'a qu'une humble chaumière et une cour !
Un soupirant comme moi ne peut être à la hauteur :
Je dois cacher les blessures qui causeront bientôt ma mort.
...
Ô si elle avait été de plus basse extraction,
Alors j'aurais pu espérer qu'elle m'aurait souri !
Ô ma félicité aurait alors dépassé toute description,
Comme aujourd'hui aucun mot ne peut décrire mon émoi!
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-3,5 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Scottish (Scots) to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Auld Rob Morris"
Go to the general single-text view
This text was added to the website: 2014-08-02
Line count: 20
Word count: 206
