Comin thro' the rye | O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

Comin thro' the rye

Language: Scottish (Scots)

Our translations: FRE

O, Jenny's a' weet, poor body,
Jenny's seldom dry:
She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
Comin thro' the rye!
Chorus:
  Comin thro' the rye, poor body,
  Comin thro' the rye,
  She draigl't a' her petticoatie,
  Comin thro' the rye!

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need a body cry?
  (chorus)

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the glen
Gin a body kiss a body,
Need the warl' ken?
  (chorus)

Gin a body meet a body
Comin thro' the grain;
Gin a body kiss a body,
The thing's a body's ain.
  (chorus)

Glossary

    weet – wet
    draigl't – draggled
    gin – if, should
    cry – call out [for help]
    warl – world
    ken – know
    ain – own

Text Authorship:

by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Comin thro' the rye" [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 Cyril Meir Scott (1879 - 1970), "Comin thro' the rye", published 1922 [ voice and piano ], London: Elkin [sung text not yet checked]

Set in a modified version by Helen Hopekirk.

Go to the text. [ view differences ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) , no title [an adaptation] ; composed by Vladislav Igorevich Kazenin, Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Also set in Swiss German (Schwizerdütsch), a translation by August Corrodi (1826 - 1885) ; composed by Friedrich Niggli.

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

CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Jak šla žitem"
FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Valter Juva) , "Tullut läpi viljan", written 1918

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2019-03-08
Line count: 24
Word count: 99