by
Joanna Baillie (1762 - 1851)
Come draw we round a cheerful ring
Language: English
Come draw we round a cheerful ring
And broach the foaming ale,
And let the merry maiden sing,
The beldame tell her tale:
And let the sightless harper sit
The blazing faggot by;
And let the jester vent his wit,
His tricks the urchin try.
Who shakes the door with angry din;
And would admitted be?
No, Gossip Winter, snug within,
We have no room for thee.
Go, scud it o'er Killarney's lake,
And shake the willows bare;
The water-elf his sport doth take,
Thou'lt find a comrade there.
Will o' the Wisp skips in the dell,
The owl hoots on the tree,
They hold their nightly vigil well,
And so the while will we.
Then strike we up the rousing glee,
And pass the beaker round,
While ev'ry head right merrily
Is moving to the sound.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Isabelle Cecchini) , "Venons et formons tous une ronde joyeuse", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz)
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2004-12-10
Line count: 24
Word count: 137
Venons et formons tous une ronde joyeuse
Language: French (Français) after the English
Venons et formons tous une ronde joyeuse,
Perçons donc les tonneaux de bière mousseuse,
Ecoutons la jolie damoiselle chanter
Et la belle dame son conte nous narrer.
Que le joueur de harpe
auprès du feu s'asseye,
Que le bouffon amuse,
que l'enfant nous égaye!
Qui donc frappe à la porte avec tant de colère?
Troublant notre confort, qui demande à entrer?
Compère Hiver, dehors,
tes glissades va faire
Au lac de Killarney,
les saules dénuder.
L'elfe des eaux s'y plaît, tu l'y rencontreras.
Un compagnon de jeux parfait pour toi sera.
Le feu follet dans la vallée
écoute le hibou chanter.
Ils veillent bien la nuit tous deux,
et nous ferons comme eux.
Alors la joie nous saisira,
la coupe nous enivrera.
Toutes les têtes bougeront
au rythme des violons.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2003 by Isabelle Cecchini, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by Joanna Baillie (1762 - 1851), "Come draw we round a cheerful ring"
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-18
Line count: 24
Word count: 130