Bonnie Bell | The smiling Spring comes in rejoicing

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

The smiling Spring comes in rejoicing

Language: English

Our translations: FRE

The smiling Spring comes in rejoicing, 
And surly Winter grimly flies; 
Now crystal clear are the falling waters, 
And bonie blue are the sunny skies. 
Fresh o'er the mountains breaks forth the morning, 
The ev'ning gilds the ocean's swell; 
All creatures joy in the sun's returning, 
And I rejoice in my bonie Bell. 

The flowery Spring leads sunny Summer, 
The yellow Autumn presses near; 
Then in his turn comes gloomy Winter, 
Till smiling Spring again appear: 
Thus seasons dancing, life advancing, 
Old Time and Nature their changes tell; 
But never ranging, still unchanging, 
I adore my bonie Bell.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Robert Burns, The Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1919, page 531.

Text Authorship:

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Bonnie Bell", written 1791 [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 Margaretha Christina de Jong (b. 1961), "Bonie Bell", op. 77 (Four Part Songs) no. 2 (2016) [ mixed chorus ]
Publisher: Margaretha Christina de Jong [external link] [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) , "Die süße Bell " ; composed by Karl Anton Florian Eckert, Alexander Fesca, Louis Huth.
- Go to the text.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2015-11-11
Line count: 16
Word count: 98