by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858)
John Anderson, my jo, John
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Available translation(s): FRE
John Anderson, my jo, John, When we were first acquent, Your locks were like the raven, Your bonie brow was brent; But now your brow is beld, John, Your locks are like the snaw; But blessings on your frosty pow, John Anderson, my jo! John Anderson, my jo, John, We clamb the hill thegither, And mony a cantie day, John, We've had wi' ane anither: Now we maun totter down, John, But hand in hand we'll go, And sleep thegither at the foot, John Anderson, my jo!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 223.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "John Anderson, my jo" [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 David Arditti (b. 1964), "John Anderson", op. 1 no. 8, first performed 1994, from Burns Songs, no. 8 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "John Anderson, my jo", JHW. XXXII/5 no. 390, Hob. XXXIa no. 2bis [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "John Anderson", JHW. XXXII/1 no. 2, Hob. XXXIa no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "John Anderson, my jo" [ voice and piano ], from Five Burns Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), "John Anderson", published 1842 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Lieder von Freiligrath nach R. Burns, no. 4, Leipzig, Kistner, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "When we were first acquent", 1943, first performed 1944 [ voice(s) and orchestra ], from Eight British and American Folk Songs, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "John Anderson, My Jo", published 1891 [ voice and piano ], London: G. Ricordi & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876) ; composed by John Böie, Martin Jacobi, Heinrich August Marschner, Fredrik Pacius, Henry Hugo Pierson, as Henry Hugo Pearson, Karl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke, Nicolai von Wilm.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "John Anderson" ; composed by Adolf Jensen, Theobald Kretschmann, Henry Hugo Pierson, Heinrich Schmidt, Robert Schumann.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Paul Hermann Franz Graener.
- 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 Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by August Bungert.
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) ; composed by Georgiy Vasil'yevich Sviridov.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Jan Andersen"
- FIN Finnish (Suomi) (Valter Juva) , "John Anderson"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "John Anderson, mon chéri", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (József Lévay) , "John Anderson"
- POL Polish (Polski) (Jan Kasprowicz) , "Dżon Anderson, ty mój!", Warsaw, first published 1907
- RUS Russian (Русский) (Mikhail Larionovich Mikhailov) , no title, first published 1856
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: 87
John Anderson, mein Lieb, John!
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)
John Anderson, mein Lieb, [John]1! Wir haben uns gesehn, Wie rabenschwarz dein Haar, [John]1, Die Stirne glatt und schön: Nun Glätte nicht, noch Locke, [John]1, Der schönen Stirne blieb: Doch segne Gott dein schneeig Haupt, John Anderson, mein Lieb! John Anderson, mein Lieb, [John]1! Wir klommen froh bergauf, Und manchen heitern Tag, [John]1, Begrüssten wir im Lauf. Nun abwärts Hand in Hand, [John]1, Froh wie's bergauf uns trieb, Und unten selges Schlafengehn, John Anderson, mein Lieb!
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Robert Burns’ Gedichte, deutsch von W. Gerhard, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth., 1840, page 67
1 omitted by Jensen, Pierson, SchumannText Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "John Anderson" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "John Anderson, my jo"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Adolf Jensen (1837 - 1879), "John Anderson, mein Lieb!", op. 49 no. 5, published 1874 [ voice and piano ], from Sieben Lieder von Robert Burns, no. 5, Breslau, Hainauer [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Theobald Kretschmann (1850 - 1919), "John Anderson", op. 8 no. 3, published 1880 [ voice and piano ], from Fünf Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 3, Wien, (Buchholz & Diebel Sort.) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), "John Anderson, mein Lieb", op. 7 (6 Lieder) no. 4 (1842) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by (Maria) Heinrich Schmidt (1809 - 1870), "John Anderson, mein Lieb", op. 1 (12 Lieder im Volkstone) no. 12, published 1842 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Hofmeister; note: this may be the wrong text for this title [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "John Anderson", op. 67 (Romanzen und Balladen für Chor (Heft 1)) no. 5 (1849), published 1849 [ SATB chorus ], Leipzig, Whistling [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856), "John Anderson", op. posth. 145 (Romanzen und Balladen für Chor (Heft 3)) no. 4 (1849), published 1860 [ SATB chorus ], Elberfeld, Arnold [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- DUT Dutch (Nederlands) [singable] (Lau Kanen) , "John Anderson, mijn vriend!", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Dr. Gerrit den Hartogh , Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2004-07-03
Line count: 16
Word count: 76