Yestreen I met you on the moor,
Ye spake na, but gaed by like stoure !
Ye geck at me because I'm poor,
But fient a hair care I.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day
Ye [wadna]1 been sae shy;
For lack o' gear ye lightly me,
But [trowth]2 I care na by.
When comin hame on Sunday last,
Upon the road as I cam past,
Ye snufft an' gae your head a cast —
But, trowth, I care't na by !
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
I doubt na, lass, but ye may think,
Because ye hae the name o' clink,
That ye can please me at a wink,
Whene'er ye like to try.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
But sorrow tak' him that's sae mean,
Although his pouch o' coin were clean,
Wha follows ony saucy quean
That looks sae proud and high !
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
Although a lad were e'er sae smart,
If he but want the [yellow]3 dirt,
Ye'll cast your head anither airt,
And answer him fu' dry.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
But if he hae the name o' gear,
Ye'll fasten to him like a brier,
Tho' hardly he, for sense or lear,
Be better than the kye.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
But Tibbie, lass, tak' my advice:
Your daddie's gear maks you sae nice,
The deil a ane would speir your price,
Were ye as poor as I.
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
There lives a lass in [beside yon]4 park,
[I'd rather hae her in her sark
Than you wi' a' your thousand mark,
That gars you look sae high.]5
O Tibbie! I hae seen the day...
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1, 3-8
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 214.
Glossary
Gear = riches, good of any kind
Lightly = sneer at
I care na by = I am indifferent
Stoure = dust in motion
Geck = mock
Fient = never
Clink = cash
Quean = buxom lass
Airt = place
Lear = learning
Kye = cows
Spear = ask, enquire
Sark = shirt
1 Haydn : "would na"
2 Haydn : "troth"
3 Haydn : "miser's"
4 Haydn : "yonder"
5 Haydn:
I would na gie her under sark For thee wi' a' thy thousand mark; Ye need na look sae high.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "O Tibbie! I hae seen the day" [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), "If a body meet a body", JHW. XXXII/3 no. 195, Hob. XXXIa no. 80bis, stanzas 1,3-8 [sung text checked 1 time]
Another version of this text exists in the database.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Ó Tibie, já tě vídal kdys"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Ô Tibbie ! J'ai vu le jour", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-13
Line count: 43
Word count: 295
Ó Tibbie, já tě vídal kdys
ne pyšně tak si vést;
ty zhrdáš mnou, že nemám nic,
však jedno mi to jest!
Já potkal jsem tě na drahách,
šla's němá kol, jak v sloupu prach;
co se mnou? —jsem tak nuzný brach,
— však čerta dbám já též!
Ty myslíš sobě, děvče, as,
když v kapse zlatem zvoní ďas,
že za nos můžeš vodit nás,
kdy vodit jenom chceš.
Však běda muži chuděře,
když nemá ani haléře,
a fiflenu si vybéře,
jež hrdá jako věž.
Byť hoch byl švarný jako kdos,
když zlatý škvár mu nedá los,
ty nad ním pyšně zvedáš nos
a těš se pak jak těš.
Však zlata kde jen potucha,
hned chytneš se jak lopucha,
ať chlap je hloupý, bez ducha
jak u voje ta spřež!
Leč, Tibbie, slyš, co napovím:
Tys krásná grošem tátovým,
a čert by si tě sotva všim',
jak já být chudou též.
Tam v doubravě znám dívčici,
ji nedám v jedné kytlici
za tebe věř, i s tisíci;
teď hrdá buď, — jak chceš.
Confirmed with BURNS, Robert. Výbor z písní a ballad, translated by Josef Václav Sládek, Praha: J. Otto, 1892.
Text Authorship:
- by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912), "Ó Tibie, já tě vídal kdys" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "O Tibbie! I hae seen the day"
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 ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-11
Line count: 32
Word count: 174