by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858)
Ae fond kiss
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: FRE
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever! Ae fareweel, and then for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee. Who shall say that Fortune grieves him, While the star of hope she leaves him? Me, nae chearful twinkle lights me; Dark despair around benights me. I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy: Naething could resist my Nancy! But to see her, was to love her, Love but her, and love for ever. Had we never lov'd sae kindly, Had we never lov'd sae blindly, Never met - or never parted- We had ne'er been broken-hearted.- Fare-thee-weel, thou first and fairest! Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest! Thine be ilka joy and treasure, Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure! Ae fond kiss, and then we sever! Ae fareweel, alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 163.
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), note: often sung to the tune of Rory Dall's port [author's text checked 2 times 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 Agathe Ursula Backer-Grøndahl (1847 - 1907), "Ae fond kiss", op. 51 no. 11 (1902), published 1902 [ voice and piano ], from Tolv Folkeviser og Melodier fra fremmede Lande, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gordon Ware Binkerd (1916 - 2003), "Ae fond kiss", published c1985, from Songs of love and affection [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Ae fond kiss", Hob. XXXIa no. 131, JHW. XXXII/2 no. 131 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Mayer (b. 1925), "Ae fond kiss " [ SSATB chorus, flute, violoncello, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Lebewohl" ; composed by Hubert Ferdinand Kufferath, Heinrich August Marschner.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ještě jedno políbení"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Un tendre baiser et nous nous séparons", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 148
Einen Kuß noch, eh' wir scheiden
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: ENG
Einen Kuß noch, eh' wir scheiden, Und ein Lebewohl uns Beiden! Meines Herzens banges Sehnen Hat nur Seufzer, hat nur Thränen. Trübe Leid das Auge nimmer, Dem noch blinkt ein Hoffnungsschimmer! Mir, ach! wird er nimmer blinken; Muß in Nacht und Trauer sinken. Doch wer tadelt, was geschehen? Konnt' ich Nancy widerstehen? Fühlt' ich mich nicht gleich getrieben, Sie und ewig sie zu lieben? Liebten wir uns nicht so innig, Herzten wir uns nicht so minnig, Hätten wir uns nie gesehen, Fühlten wir nicht Herzenswehen. Lebe wohl, du einzig Eine! Lebe wohl, du Engelreine! Blühe Glück auf deinen Wegen, Lust und Wonne, Lieb' und Segen! Einen Kuß noch, eh wir scheiden, Und ein Lebewohl uns Beiden! Meiner Seele banges Sehnen Hat nur Seufzer, hat nur Thränen.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Robert Burns' Gedichte von W. Gerhard, Leipzig, Verlag von Johann Ambr. Barth, 1841, pages 168-169.
Text Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Lebewohl" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), note: often sung to the tune of Rory Dall's port
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hubert Ferdinand Kufferath (1818 - 1896), "Einen Kuß noch, eh' wir scheiden", op. 3 (6 Lieder von R. Burns für Tenor oder Sopran) no. 6, published 1841 [ tenor or soprano and piano ], Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Einen Kuss noch eh' wir scheiden", op. 107 no. 2, published 1841 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Robert Burns Lieder für Tenor oder Sopran, no. 2, Leipzig, Breitkopf und Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-10
Line count: 24
Word count: 126