"Wha is that at my bower-door?" "O wha is it but Findlay!" "Then gae your gate, ye'se nae be here:" "Indeed maun I," quo' Findlay; "What mak' ye, sae like a thief?" "O come and see," quo' Findlay; "Before the morn ye'll work mischief:" "Indeed will I," quo' Findlay. "Gif I rise and let you in"- "Let me in," quo' Findlay; "Ye'll keep me waukin wi' your din;" "Indeed will I," quo' Findlay; "In my bower if ye should stay"- "Let me stay," quo' Findlay; "I fear ye'll bide till break o' day;" "Indeed will I," quo' Findlay. "Here this night if ye remain"- "I'll remain," quo' Findlay; "I dread ye'll learn the gate again;" "Indeed will I," quo' Findlay. "What may pass within this bower"- "Let it pass," quo' Findlay; "Ye maun conceal till your last hour:" "Indeed will I," quo' Findlay.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesGlossary
maun = must
bide = remain
waukin = awake
din = noise
ken = know
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Indeed will I, quo' Findlay", first published 1783 [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 Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Wha is that at my bower-door?", published 1939 [ low voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 5, no. 6, Bayley & Ferguson; confirmed with Songs of Francis George Scott, selected and edited by Neil Mackay, Roberton Publications, Aylesbury 1980, page 96. [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876) ; composed by Carl Loewe, Eusebius Mandyczewski.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Der kecke Finlay" ; composed by Robert Schumann.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) ; composed by Georgiy Vasil'yevich Sviridov.
- Also set in Swedish (Svenska), a translation by Gustaf Fröding (1860 - 1911) ; composed by Emil Sjögren.
- 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) , "Kdo do komůrky mé by rád?"
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (Tamás Rédey) , "Ki vagy te ott a kert alatt?", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Iain Sneddon [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 143
Wer ist vor meiner Kammerthür? -- "Ich bin es," -- sagte Finlay. -- Geh, pack' dich fort! was suchst du hier? -- "Gar Süßes!" -- sagte Finlay -- Du kommst im Dunkeln, wie ein Dieb. -- "So fang mich!" -- sagte Finlay. -- Du hast mich wohl ein wenig lieb? -- "Von Herzen!" -- sagte Finlay. -- Und öffnet' ich nach deinem Sinn -- "O öffne!" -- flehte Finlay -- Da wär ja Schlaf und Ruhe hin; -- "Laß hin sein!" -- sagte Finlay. -- Ein Tauber du im Taubenschlag! -- "Beim Täubchen!" -- sagte Finlay. -- Du girrtest bis zum hellen Tag. -- "Wohl möglich!" -- sagte Finlay. -- Nein! nimmer lass' ich dich herein! -- "Thu's dennoch!" -- flehte Finlay -- Du stelltest wohl dich täglich ein? -- "Mit Freuden!" -- sagte Finlay -- Wie keck du bist und was du wagst! -- "So darf ich?" -- fragte Finlay -- Daß du's nur keiner Seele sagst! -- "Gewiß nicht!" -- sagte Finlay. --
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with Robert Burns’ Gedichte, deutsch von W. Gerhard, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth., 1840, page2 161-162
Text Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Der kecke Finlay" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Indeed will I, quo' Findlay", first published 1783
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "Unterm Fenster", op. 34 (Vier Duette) no. 3 (1840), published 1841 [ duet for soprano and tenor with piano ], Leipzig, Klemm [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (David K. Smythe) , no title, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-20
Line count: 24
Word count: 141