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O luely, luely cam she in And luely she lay doun: I kent her by her caller lips And her briests sae sma' and roun'. A' thru the nicht we spak nae word Nor sinder'd bane frae bane: A' thru the nicht I heard her hert Gang soundin' wi' [my]1 ain. It was about the waukrife hour [Whan]2 cocks begin [to]3 craw That she smool'd saftly thru the mirk Afore the day wud daw. Sae luely, luely cam she in Sae luely was she gaen And wi' her a' my simmer days Like they had never been.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Scottish Poems, ed. by Gerard Carruthers, Everyman's Library, 2009, page 94.
1 MacMillan: "ma"2 Scott: "When"
3 MacMillan: "tae"
Authorship
- by William Soutar (1898 - 1943), "The tryst", appears in Poems in Scots, The Moray Press, first published 1935 [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 James MacMillan (b. 1959), "Scots Song", 1991, published 1991, copyright © 1991, first performed 1991 [2 clarinets, viola, cello, double bass, and voice], from Three Scottish Songs, no. 1 [ sung text checked 1 time]
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "The Tryst", published 1949 [voice and piano], from 35 Scottish Lyrics and other Poems, no. 14, Bayley & Ferguson for The Saltire Society, Glasgow, page 113 [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Iain Sneddon) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , "Das Stelldichein", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor] , Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2017-09-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 97
O softly, softly came she in And softly she lay down I knew her by her cool lips And her breasts so small and round. And through the night we spoke no word Nor separated bone from bone: All through the night I heard her heart Beating with my own. It was about the waking hour When cocks begin to crow That she slipped softly through the darkness Before the day would dawn. So softly, softly came she in So softly she was gone And with her all my summer days As if they had never been.
About the headline (FAQ)
Translations of title(s):
"The tryst" = "The Appointment"
"Scots Song" = "Scots Song"
Authorship
- Translation from Scottish (Scots) to English copyright © 2018 by Iain Sneddon, (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:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by William Soutar (1898 - 1943), "The tryst", appears in Poems in Scots, The Moray Press, first published 1935
This text was added to the website: 2018-11-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 97