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O Mary, at thy window be! It is the wish'd the trysted hour. Those smiles and glances let me see, That makes the miser's treasure poor. How blythely wad I bide the stoure, A weary slave frae sun to sun, Could I the rich reward secure -- The lovely Mary Morison! Yestreen, when to the trembling string The dance gaed thro the lighted ha', To thee my fancy took its wing, I sat, but neither heard or saw: Tho' this was fair, and that was braw, And yon the toast of a' the town, I sigh'd, and said amang them a' -- "Ye are na Mary Morison!" O, Mary, canst thou wreck his peace Wha for thy sake wad gladly die? Or canst thou break that heart of his Whase only faut is loving thee? If love for love thou wilt na gie, At least be pity to me shown: A thought ungentle canna be The thought o' Mary Morison.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 299.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Mary Morison" [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "O Mary, at thy window be", op. 108 (25 schottische Lieder mit Begleitung von Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncello) no. 17 (1815) [ voice, violin, violoncello, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Mary Morison", published 1922 [ male voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 2, no. 5, Bayley & Ferguson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "Mary Morison", 1885, published 1886 [ voice and piano ], from Six Songs by Robert Burns, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Sullivan, Sir (1842 - 1900), "Mary Morison" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Mary Morison", published 1883 [ voice and piano ], London: Chappell & Co. [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) , "Mary Morison " ; composed by Alexander Fesca.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Mary Morison"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Mary Morison", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "Mariechen, komm ans Fensterlein"
- GER German (Deutsch) (Gustav Legerlotz) , "Mary Morison"
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (József Lévay) , "Morison Mari"
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: 158
Ô Mary, sois à ta fenêtre, C'est l'heure souhaitée du rendez-vous. Fais-moi voir ces sourires et regards Qui rendent vil le trésor de l'avare. Comme j'attendrais l'heure avec bonheur, Esclave fatigué, soleil après soleil, Si je pouvais obtenir cette précieuse récompense, La charmante Mary Morison ! Quand la nuit dernière au son tremblant des violons La danse passait dans la salle éclairée, Mon imagination prit son vol vers toi, J'étais assis mais n'entendais ni ne voyais plus : Bien que celle-ci fut belle, celle-là élégante, Et celle là-bas la coqueluche de toute la ville, Je soupirais et disais à toutes : « Vous n'êtes pas Mary Morison : » Ô, Mary, peux-tu détruire la paix de celui Qui mourrait volontiers pour ton amour ? Ou peux-tu briser le cœur de celui Dont la seule faute est de t'aimer ? Si à l'amour tu ne rends pas l'amour, Témoigne-moi au-moins de la pitié : Une pensée revêche ne peut être Une pensée de Mary Morison.
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.
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Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Mary Morison"
This text was added to the website: 2014-07-23
Line count: 24
Word count: 157