Bonie lassie, will ye go,
Will ye go, will ye go,
Bonie lassie, will ye go
To the birks of Aberfeldy?
Now simmer blinks on flow'ry braes,
And o'er the chrystal streamlet plays;
Come let us spend the lightsome days
In the birks of Aberfeldy.
Bonie lassie, &c.
The little birdies blythely sing,
While o'er their heads the hazels hing,
Or lightly flit on wanton wing
In the birks of Aberfeldy.
Bonie lassie, &c.
The braes ascend like lofty wa's,
The foaming stream deep roaring fa's,
O'er-hung wi' fragrant spreading shaws,
The birks of Aberfeldy.
Bonie lassie, &c.
The hoary cliffs are crown'd wi' flowers,
White o'er the linns the burnie pours,
And rising weets wi' misty showers
The birks of Aberfeldy.
Bonie lassie, &c.
Let Fortune's gifts at random flee,
They ne'er shall draw a wish frae me,
Supremely blest wi' love and thee
In the birks of Aberfeldy.
Bonie lassie, &c.
H. Abrams sets stanzas 1, 5
About the headline (FAQ)
GLOSSARY
Birks = birch trees
Braes = hillsides
Shaws = woody groves by a water side
Linns = waterfalls
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) [author's text not yet checked 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 Harriet Abrams (1758? - 1821?), "Birks of Aberfeldy", published c1795, stanzas 1,5 [ three-part chorus a cappella ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "The birks of Abergeldie", JHW XXXII/3 no. 237, Hob. XXXIa no. 58bis [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henri Tomasi (1901 - 1971), "The birks of Aberfeldy", published 1938 [ high voice and piano ], from Chansons écossaises, no. 3, Éd. Henry Lemoine, also set in French (Français) [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by René Talba ; composed by Henri Tomasi.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846) ; composed by Elise Schmezer.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Bílé břízy"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Les bouleaux d'Abergeldy", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2009-12-29
Line count: 29
Word count: 153
Herzig Mädel, willst du gehn,
Willst du gehn, willst du gehn,
Herzig Mädel, willst du gehn,
Zur Birk von Aberfeldy?
Der Sommer glänzt auf blum'ger Haid,
Thauperlen der Crystallbach streut;
Laßt ziehn uns hin in Lust und Freud
Zur Birk von Aberfeldy.
Herzig Mädel, u. s. w.
Das kleine Vöglein lustig singt,
Wenn ihm die grüne Hasel winkt,
Und leicht beflügelt auf sich's schwingt
Zur Birk von Aberfeldy.
Herzig Mädel, u. s. w.
Hoch von des Abhangs Felsenwall
Tiefdonnernd stürzt der Wasserfall,
Daß zitternd bebt vom Wiederhall
Die Birk von Aberfeldy
Herzig Mädel, u. s. w.
Von Felsenhaupt im Blumenkranz
Weiß schäumend stürzt der Wellentanz,
Und übersprüht mit Nebelglanz
Die Birk von Aberfeldy.
Herzig Mädel, u. s. w.
Raubt mir das Glück auch jede Zier,
Nicht einen Wunsch erpreßt es mir;
Denn hochbeglückt geh' ich mit dir
Zur Birk von Aberfeldy.
Herzig Mädel, u. s. w.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Gedichte von Robert Burns. Übersetzt von Philipp Kaufmann, Stuttgart und Tübingen, Verlag der J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1839, pages 126-127.
Text Authorship:
- by (Johann) Philipp Kaufmann (1802 - 1846), no title, appears in Gedichte von Robert Burns [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Elise Schmezer (1810 - 1856), "Die Birke von Aberfeldy", op. 18 no. 3, published 1853 [ voice and piano ], from 3 Lieder mit englischem Texte von R. Burns, no. 3, Hamburg, Böhme [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2025-12-01
Line count: 29
Word count: 146