by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858)
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy...
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes, Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise; My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream, Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream. Thou stock dove whose echo resounds thro' the glen, Ye wild whistling blackbirds in yon thorny den, Thou green-crested lapwing, thy screaming forbear, I charge you disturb not my slumbering Fair. How lofty, sweet Afton, thy neighbouring hills, Far marked with the courses of [clear]1, winding rills; There daily I wander as noon rises high, My flocks and my Mary's sweet cot in my eye. How pleasant thy banks and green valleys below, Where, wild in the woodlands, the primroses blow; There oft, as mild ev'ning weeps over the lea, The sweet-scented birk shades my Mary and me. Thy crystal stream, Afton, how lovely it glides, And winds by the cot where my Mary resides; How wanton thy waters her snowy feet lave, As, gathering sweet flowerets, she stems thy clear wave. Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes, Flow gently, sweet River, the theme of my lays; My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream, Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.
B. Britten sets stanzas 1-2, 5-6
H. Hopekirk sets stanzas 1-3, 6
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Hopekirk: "sweet"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), no title [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), "Sweet Afton", op. 1 no. 6, first performed 1994, from Burns Songs, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Agathe Ursula Backer-Grøndahl (1847 - 1907), "Afton Water", op. 51 no. 12 (1902), published 1902 [ voice and piano ], from Tolv Folkeviser og Melodier fra fremmede Lande, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "Afton Water", op. 92 no. 5 (1975), stanzas 1-2,5-6, from A Birthday Hansel, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Percy Aldridge Grainger (1882 - 1961), "Afton Water", 1898 [ tenor, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Helen Hopekirk (1856 - 1945), "Flow gently, sweet Afton", subtitle: "Afton water", published 1905, copyright © 1905, stanzas 1-3,6 [ voice and piano ], Oliver Ditson Company [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858) , "Mary schlummert", first published 1840? ; composed by Wilhelm Baumgartner, Moritz Hauptmann.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by L. G. Silbergleit , "Ström' leise" [an adaptation] ; composed by Carl Goldmark, George Henschel, Robert von Hornstein.
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Carl Martin Reinthaler.
- 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.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Na Aftonu"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HUN Hungarian (Magyar) (József Lévay) , "Folyj csendesen, Afton"
Research team for this page: Jean Branch , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 197
Fließ, murmelnder Afton, die Hügel...
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Available translation(s): ENG
Fließ, murmelnder Afton, die Hügel entlang; Fließ ruhig und lausche dem liebenden Sang! Meine Mary schläft unter'm Apfelbaum: Fließ ruhig und störe sie nicht im Traum! Holztaube, die dort im Walde girrt, Ihr Amseln, die ihr durch Dornen schwirrt; Grünkämmiger Kiebitz, wo schwippst du hin? Ich bitt' euch, stört nicht die Schläferin! O Afton, wie heiter die Hügel sind, Durch die deine spielende Welle rinnt! Hier schau' ich, gelehnt über meinen Stab, Auf Mary's Hütt' und die Heerde hinab. Wie duftig dein Rand im Thale so grün, Wo lustig die goldenen Primeln blühn! Im Birkenschatten saßen wir dort, Und wechselten manches vertrauliche Wort. Du hüpfst um die Hütte, wo Mary wohnt, Schmiegst um ihr Füßchen dich, reich belohnt! Nicht wahr, mein Bächlein, bist hochbeglückt, Wenn Blumen die Holde, dich hemmend, pflückt? - Fließ, murmelnder Aston, die Hügel entlang, Fließ ruhig, o Bächlein, und höre den Sang! Meine Mary schläft unter'm Apfelbaum: Fließ ruhig und störe sie nicht im Traum!
About the headline (FAQ)
Confirmed with Robert Burns’ Gedichte, deutsch von W. Gerhard, Leipzig: Verlag von Joh. Ambr. Barth., 1840, pages 201-202
Text Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Christoph Leonhard Gerhard (1780 - 1858), "Mary schlummert", first published 1840? [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), no title
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Wilhelm Baumgartner (1820 - 1867), "Mary schlummert", op. 22 (Drei Lieder) no. 1 (1847) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Moritz Hauptmann (1792 - 1868), "Fliess, murmelnder Afton ", op. 28 (12 Lieder) no. 12, published 1842 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Peters [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor] , Harry Joelson
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-22
Line count: 24
Word count: 158