by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912)
O Mary, at thy window be!
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: FRE
O Mary, at thy window be! It is the wish'd the trysted hour. Those smiles and glances let me see, That makes the miser's treasure poor. How blythely wad I bide the stoure, A weary slave frae sun to sun, Could I the rich reward secure -- The lovely Mary Morison! Yestreen, when to the trembling string The dance gaed thro the lighted ha', To thee my fancy took its wing, I sat, but neither heard or saw: Tho' this was fair, and that was braw, And yon the toast of a' the town, I sigh'd, and said amang them a' -- "Ye are na Mary Morison!" O, Mary, canst thou wreck his peace Wha for thy sake wad gladly die? Or canst thou break that heart of his Whase only faut is loving thee? If love for love thou wilt na gie, At least be pity to me shown: A thought ungentle canna be The thought o' Mary Morison.
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with The Complete Poetical Works of Robert Burns, Cambridge edition, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1897, page 299.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Mary Morison" [author's text checked 2 times 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), "O Mary, at thy window be", op. 108 (25 schottische Lieder mit Begleitung von Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncello) no. 17 (1815) [ voice, violin, violoncello, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "Mary Morison", published 1922 [ male voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 2, no. 5, Bayley & Ferguson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "Mary Morison", 1885, published 1886 [ voice and piano ], from Six Songs by Robert Burns, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Sullivan, Sir (1842 - 1900), "Mary Morison" [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "Mary Morison", published 1883 [ voice and piano ], London: Chappell & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Mary Morison " ; composed by Alexander Fesca.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Mary Morison"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Mary Morison", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Anonymous/Unidentified Artist) , "Mariechen, komm ans Fensterlein"
- GER German (Deutsch) (Gustav Legerlotz) , "Mary Morison"
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (József Lévay) , "Morison Mari"
Researcher for this page: Pierre Mathé [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 158
Mary Morison
Language: Czech (Čeština) after the Scottish (Scots)
Ó, Mary, přistup k oknu blíž, to čas, kdy vídám tě tam stát — ať spatřím úsměv, pohled již, mně dražší každý nad poklad. Jak pracoval bych v poli rád od úsvitu až v slunka sklon, když v odměnu bych svoji zvát moh' sličnou Mary Morison. Když včera hudba začla znět a tancem hlučel světlý sál, mé myšlénky šly k tobě v let, já neslyšel a nedýchal, ten kráskou tu, ten onu zval a po jiné byl všechněch shon. — »Ó, není,« já si zavzdychal, »z vás žádná Mary Morison!« Ó, Mary, tolik strojíš muk, a já bych za tě umřel tich, a stavíš mého srdce tluk, v němž pouze láska k tobě hřích. Když lásky není v prsou tvých, přej soucitný mi aspoň ston, — neb myšlének mít nemůž' zlých v své duši Mary Morison.
Confirmed with Výbor z písní a ballad - Robert Burns, translated by Josef Václav Sládek.
Text Authorship:
- by Josef Václav Sládek (1845 - 1912), "Mary Morison" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Scottish (Scots) by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "Mary Morison"
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: 2019-08-04
Line count: 24
Word count: 136