by
William Soutar (1898 - 1943)
O luely, luely cam she in
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: ENG GER
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"
Text Authorship:
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 page: 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: 100
O softly, softly came she in
Language: English after the Scottish (Scots)
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"
Text 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: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2018-11-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 97
