by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Now westlin' winds
Language: English
Our translations: FRE
Now westlin' winds and slaughtering guns Bring autumn's pleasant weather; The muircock springs, on whirring wings, Amang the blooming heather. Now waving grain, wide o'er the plain, Delights the weary farmer; And the moon shine's [sic] bright, when I rove at night, To muse upon my charmer. The partridge loves the fruitful fells; The plover loves the mountains; The woodcock haunts the lonely dells; The soaring hern the fountains. Through lofty groves the cushat roves, The path of man to shun it; The hazel bush o'erhangs the thrush, The spreading thorn the linnet. Thus every kind their pleasure find The savage and the tender; Some social join, and leagues combine; Some solitary wander: Avaunt, away! the cruel sway, Tyrannic man's dominion; The sportsman's joy, the murdering cry, The flutt'ring, gory pinion. But, Peggy dear, the evening's clear, Thick flies the skimming swallow; The sky is blue, the fields in view, All fading green and yellow: Come let us stray our gladsome way, And view the charms of nature; The rustling corn, the fruited thorn, And every happy creature. We'll gently walk and sweetly talk, Till the silent moon shines clearly; I'll grasp thy waist, and fondly press't, And swear I love thee dearly. Not vernal showers to budding flowers, Not autumn to the farmer, So dear can be as thou to me, My fair, my lovely charmer!
Confirmed with The Works of Robert Burns; containing his Life, by John Lockhart, Esq., New York: Robinson and Franklin, 1839, p. 215.
Tune -- "I had a horse, I had nae mair."Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Now westlin' winds" [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Joseph Haydn.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Ignaz Brüll.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Teď větru stesk"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Maintenant les vents d'ouest", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2014-10-23
Line count: 40
Word count: 227