by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Heinrich Julius Heintze (1811 - 1860)
The lovely lass o' Inverness
Language: Scottish (Scots)
The lovely lass o' Inverness, Nae joy nor pleasure can she see; For e'en [to]1 morn she cries, (Alas!) And ay the saut tear blins her e'e: « Drumossie moor, Drumossie day, A waefu' day it was to me ! For there I lost my father dear, My father dear and brethren three. Their winding-sheet the bluidy clay, Their graves are growing green to see, And by them lies the dearest lad That ever blest a woman's e'e! Now wae to thee, thou cruel lord, A bluidy man I trow thou be, For monie a heart thou has made sair That ne'er did wrang to thine or thee! »
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 250.
1 Beethoven: "and"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The lovely lass o' Inverness" [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "The lovely lass of Inverness", op. 108 (25 schottische Lieder mit Begleitung von Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncello) no. 8 (1815) [ voice, violin, violoncello, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), as Henry Hugo Pearson, "The Lass of Inverness", published 1842 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Lieder von Freiligrath nach R. Burns, no. 6, Leipzig, Kistner, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "The lovely lass o' Inverness", published 1922 [ female voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 1, no. 7, Bayley & Ferguson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "The lovely lass of Inverness", published 1899 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876) , "Die süße Dirn von Inverness", appears in Gedichte, in Robert Burns. Elf Lieder [later 13 Lieder], no. 2 ; composed by Robert Franz, Adolf Jensen, Heinrich August Marschner, Henry Hugo Pierson, as Henry Hugo Pearson.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Hermann Theodor Otto Grädener.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Heinrich Julius Heintze (1811 - 1860) , "Die schöne Maid von Inverneß", appears in Lieder und Balladen des Schotten Robert Burns ; composed by Johannes Dürrner.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Dívka z Inverness"
- FRE French (Français) (Isabelle Cecchini) , "La jolie fille d'Inverness", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "Die holde Maid von Inverness"
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "L'amabile fanciulla di Inverness", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- POL Polish (Polski) (Jan Kasprowicz) , "Nadobna dziewka z Inverness", Warsaw, first published 1907
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 109
Die schöne Maid von Juverneß
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)
Die schöne Maid von Juverneß Sieht keine Lust und Freude mehr; Sie klaget früh und spät, ihr Aug' Ist rothgeweint und thränenschwer: Drumossie⸗Moor — Drumossie⸗Tag, Du warst ein Unglückstag für mich! Denn ich verlor den Vater lieb, Verlor der Brüder drei durch dich. Ihr Lailach ist nun blut'ger Klei, Ihr Grab von grünem Gras geschmückt; Daneben liegt der liebste Knab', Der eines Weibes Aug' entzückt. Grausamer König, wehe dir! Du, glaub' ich, bist ein blut ger Mann, Schwer hast du manches Herz gemacht, Das nie dem deinen wehgethan.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Lieder und Balladen des Schotten Robert Burns. Übertragen von Heinrich Julius Heintze, Braunschweig, Verlag von George Westermann, 1840, page 177.
Text Authorship:
- by Heinrich Julius Heintze (1811 - 1860), "Die schöne Maid von Inverneß", appears in Lieder und Balladen des Schotten Robert Burns [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The lovely lass o' Inverness"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Johannes Dürrner (1810 - 1859), "Die schöne Maid", op. 5 (6 Lieder von R. Burns) no. 3, published 1844 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Klemm [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2026-01-18
Line count: 16
Word count: 88