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Hark! the mavis' evening sang
Sounding Clouden's woods amang,
Then a-faulding let us gang,
My bonnie dearie.
Ca' the [yowes]1 to the knowes,
Ca' them where the heather grows,
Ca' them where the [burnie]2 rows,
My bonnie dearie.
We'll gae down by Clouden side,
Through the hazels, spreading wide
O'er the waves that sweetly glide
To the moon sae clearly.
Ca' the [yowes]1 etc.
Yonder Clouden's silent towers,
Where at moonshine midnight hours
O'er the dewy bending flowers
Fairies dance sae cheery.
Ca' the [yowes]1 etc.
Ghaist nor bogle shalt thou fear;
Thou'rt to Love and Heaven sae dear,
Nocht of ill may come thee near,
My bonnie dearie.
Ca' the [yowes]1 etc.
Fair and lovely as thou art,
Thou hast stown my very heart;
I can die -- but canna part,
My bonnie dearie.
Ca' the [yowes]1 etc.
While waters wimple to the sea;
While day blinks in the lift sae hie;
Till clay-cauld death shall blin' my e'e,
Ye shall be my dearie.
Ca' the [yowes]1 etc.
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1, 4-5
M. Johnson sets stanzas 1-2, 5
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)GLOSSARY
mavis' = thrush
faulding = to shut sheep in the fold
knowes = Small round hillocks
bogle = hobgoblin
stown = stolen
2 Haydn: "burn"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), title 1: "Hark! the mavis", title 2: "Ca' the yowes to the knowes" [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 (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "The maid that tends the goats", Hob. XXXIa:221bis, JHW XXXII/3 no. 211, stanzas 1,4-5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Maurice Johnson , "Ca' the yowes", stanzas 1-2,5, arrangement [sung text checked 1 time]
Set in a modified version by Benjamin Britten, John Linton Gardner, Roger Quilter, Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Konrad Wilhelm Adolf Laun (1808 - 1881) , no title, appears in Lieder und Balladen von Robert Burns ; composed by Ernst II, Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, as S. Herzog.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 33
Word count: 175
Écoute le chant vespéral de la grive
Qui résonne dans les bois de Clouden,
Et puis allons parquer les moutons,
Ma belle chérie.
Mène les brebis sur les hauteurs,
Mène-les où pousse la bruyère
Mène-les où court le ruisselet,
Ma belle chérie.
Nous descendrons sur les rives de la Clouden,
Là où les noisetiers s'étendent
Au-dessus des vagues qui glissent gentiment
Sous la lune si claire.
Mène les brebis...
Là-bas sont les tours silencieuses de Clouden
Où, à minuit au clair de lune,
Sur les fleurs courbées par la rosée,
Les fées dansent si joyeusement.
Mène les brebis...
Tu ne craindras ni fantôme ni lutin,
Car tu es si chère à Amour et au Ciel
Rien de mauvais ne peut t'approcher,
Ma belle chérie.
Mène les brebis...
Belle et charmante comme tu es,
Tu as bien ravi mon cœur ;
Je peux mourir ‑ mais ne puis te quitter,
Ma belle chérie.
Mène les brebis...
Aussi longtemps que les eaux coulent vers la mer ;
Aussi longtemps que le jour brille dans le ciel ;
Jusqu'à ce que la froide mort ferme mes yeux,
Tu seras ma chérie.
Mène les brebis...
About the headline (FAQ)
J. Haydn a mis en musique les strophes 1, 4-5Text 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), title 1: "Hark! the mavis", title 2: "Ca' the yowes to the knowes"
This text was added to the website: 2014-09-21
Line count: 33
Word count: 188