There's auld Rob Morris that wons in yon glen, He's the king of gude fellows, and wale of auld men; He has gowd in his coffers, he has sheep, he has kine, And ae bonnie lassie, his darling and mine. She's fresh as the morning, the fairest in May, She's sweet as the ev'ning amang the new hay; As blythe and as artless as the lambs on the lea, And dear to my heart as the light to my e'e. But oh, she's an heiress, auld Robin's a laird, And my daddie has nought but a cot-house and yard: A wooer like me maunna hope to come speed; The wounds I maun hide which will soon be my dead. The day comes to me, but delight brings me nane; The night comes to me, but my rest it is gane; I wander my lane like a night-troubled ghaist, And I sigh as my heart it wad burst in my breast. O had she but been of a lower degree, I then might hae hop'd she wad smil'd upon me! O, how past descriving had then been my bliss, As now my distraction no words can express!
J. Haydn sets stanzas 1-3, 5
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 271.
Glossary
Wons = dwells
Wale = choice
Gowd = gold
Kine = cows
Laird = man of landed property
Cot-house = tied or rented cottage on a farm
Maunna = must not
Descriving = describing
Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Auld Rob Morris" [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 (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "Auld Rob Morris", JHW. XXXII/3 no. 184, Hob. XXXIa no. 192, stanzas 1-3,5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Starý Rob Morris"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le vieux Rob Morris", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani , Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-02
Line count: 20
Word count: 196
Je starý Rob Morris tam v údolí živ, král všech dobrých lidí a bodrosti div, zlato má v truhlách, brav tuk jen a lůj, a hezoučkou dcerku, svůj poklad i můj. Je svěží jak jitro v májový den, milá jak večer u skosených sen, nevinná jako beruška z lad, jak světlo svých očí, tak já ji mám rád. Však starý Rob Morris je vznešený pán, má zámek, — můj otec jen chudičký lán; takový ženich tam nemůže jít a smrtelnou ránu jen musím krýt. Přichází ráno a žalost jen mám, přichází večer a klid můj ten tam; tak srdce mi puká, když zajdu si v luh, a chodím nocí, jak obchází duch. Ó kdyby jen prostší byl její stav, úsměvem jejím hned bych byl zdráv, jako kdo z lidí bych blažen byl hned a k smrti tak smutný by nebyl mi svět.
Confirmed with BURNS, Robert. Výbor z písní a ballad, translated by Josef Václav Sládek, Praha: J. Otto, 1892.
Authorship:
- by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912), "Starý Rob Morris" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Auld Rob Morris"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2019-08-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 142