O stay, sweet warbling woodlark, stay, Nor quit me for the trembling spray, A hapless lover courts thy lay, Thy soothing, fond complaining. Again, again that tender part, That I may catch thy melting art; For surely that wad touch her heart Wha kills me wi' disdaining. Say, was thy little mate unkind, And heard thee as the careless wind? Oh, nocht but love and sorrow join'd, Sic notes o' woe could wauken! Thou tells o' never-ending care; O' speechless grief, and dark despair: For pity's sake, sweet bird, nae mair! Or my poor heart is broken.
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Confirmed with The Complete Works of Robert Burns, Volume VI, Philadelphia, Gebbie & Co., 1886, page 88. Tune: "Loch Erroch Side"; sent to George Thomson in 1798.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Address to the woodlark", written 1795 [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 Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "O stay, sweet warbling woodlark, stay", published 1895 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by L. G. Silbergleit , "An eine Nachtigall" ; composed by Eyvind Alnæs, Otto Feller, Heinrich Weiß, Hans Weltner.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "An die Waldlerche" ; composed by Ferdinand David.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Slavíku"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-04-16
Line count: 16
Word count: 97
Umschwebe hier am Felsenhang, O Lerche, mich mit süßem Klang! Denn Einen labet dein Gesang, Dem Lieb' im Busen glühet. Du weißt, was du mir singen mußt: O Vöglein sing' es mir zur Lust! Es rührt vielleicht die Marmorbrust Der, die mich quảlt und fliehet. Ist's Männchen dir vielleicht entflohn? War Kaltsinn deines Liedes Lohn? So milden wehmuthvollen Ton Schafft nur das Leid der Minne: Du singst von Kummer trüb und schwer, Von banger Sorgen düsterm Heer, Lieb Vöglein sing', o sing' nicht mehr, Sonst schwinden mir die Sinne.
Confirmed with Robert Burns' Gedichte. Deutsch von W. Gerhard., Leipzig, Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth, 1840, page 309.
Text Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "An die Waldlerche" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Address to the woodlark", written 1795
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ferdinand David (1810 - 1873), "An die Waldlerche", op. 26 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 1, published 1850 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-12-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 89