by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876)
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.
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 süße Dirn' von Inverness
Language: German (Deutsch) after the Scottish (Scots)
Die süße Dirn' von Inverness Wird nun und nimmer wieder froh; Ihr einz'ger Gang ist in die Mess', Sie weint und seufzt, und sagt nur: O! Drumossie Moor, Drumossie [Tag]1; O bitt'rer Tag, o blut'ges Moor! Wo kalt und starr mein Vater lag, Wo ich der Brüder drei verlor. Ihr Lailach ist der blut'ge Klei, Ihr Grab ist grün vom ersten Kraut, Der schmuckste Bursche liegt dabei, Den Mädchenaugen je geschaut! Nun wehe Dir, der Du die Schlacht [Gewannst]2 und sätest blutge Saat! Manch Herz hast Du betrübt gemacht, das Dir doch nichts zu Leide tat.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Gedichte von Ferdinand Freiligrath, 7. Aufl., Stuttgart und Tübingen, 1844.
1 Marschner: "Moor"2 Marschner: "Gewinnst"
Text Authorship:
- by Ferdinand Freiligrath (1810 - 1876), "Die süße Dirn von Inverness", appears in Gedichte, in Robert Burns. Elf Lieder [later 13 Lieder], no. 2 [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 Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "Die süße Dirn' von Inverness", op. 4 (Zwölf Gesänge) no. 2, published 1845 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Kistner [sung text not yet checked]
- by Adolf Jensen (1837 - 1879), "Die süße Dirn' von Inverness", op. 49 no. 4, published 1874 [ voice and piano ], from Sieben Lieder von Robert Burns, no. 4, Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Heinrich August Marschner (1795 - 1861), "Die süße Dirn' von Inverness", op. 103 ([Sieben] Lieder nach Rob. Burns von F. Freiligrath für Sopran oder Tenor) no. 1, published 1838 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], Mainz, Schott [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Henry Hugo Pierson (1816 - 1873), as Henry Hugo Pearson, "Die Maid von Inverness", published 1842 [ voice and piano ], from 6 Lieder von Freiligrath nach R. Burns, no. 6, Leipzig, Kistner, also set in Scottish (Scots) [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2006-04-05
Line count: 16
Word count: 98