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O how can I be blythe and glad,
Or how can I gang brisk and braw,
When the bonie lad that I lo'e best
Is o'er the hills and far awa ?
It's no the frosty winter wind,
It's no the driving drift and snaw;
But aye the tear comes in my e'e,
To think on him that's far awa.
My father pat me frae his door,
My friends they hae disown'd me a';
But I hae ane will tak my part,
The bonie lad that's far awa.
A pair o' glooves he bought to me,
And silken snoods he gae me twa;
And I will wear them for his sake,
The bonie lad that's far awa.
O, weary Winter soon will pass,
And Spring will cleed the birken shaw;
And my young babie will be born,
And he'll be hame that's far awa !
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 234.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The Bonie Lad That's Far Awa", written 1788 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "O how can I be blythe and glad", op. 108 (25 schottische Lieder mit Begleitung von Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncello) no. 14 (1815) [ voice, violin, violoncello, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), adapted by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846) , no title ; composed by Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, Felix Mendelssohn.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Weit, weit!" [an adaptation] ; composed by Robert Schumann.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ten hodný hoch"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le joli garçon qui est au loin", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "O wie kann ich wohl fröhlich sein"
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2004-08-03
Line count: 20
Word count: 143
Ô comment puis-je être heureuse et gaie,
Ou aller, vive et élégante
Quand le joli garçon que j'aime tant
Est au-delà des collines et au loin ?
Ce n'est pas le vent glacé de l'hiver,
Ce n'est pas la rafale battante ni la neige ;
Mais les larmes me montent toujours aux yeux
À penser à celui qui est au loin.
Mon père m'a mise à la porte,
Mes amis m'ont abandonnée ;
Mais j'en ai un qui prendra mon parti,
Le joli garçon qui est au loin.
Il m'a acheté une paire de gants
Et m'a donné deux rubans de soie ;
Et je vais les porter par amour pour lui,
Pour le joli garçon qui est au loin.
Ô l'épuisant Hiver sera bientôt passé
Et le Printemps habillera les bosquets de bouleaux ;
Et mon gentil petit bébé sera né,
Et il sera à la maison, celui qui est au loin !
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), "The Bonie Lad That's Far Awa", written 1788
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-14
Line count: 20
Word count: 148