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by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

The deil's awa wi' the Exciseman
Language: Scottish (Scots) 
The deil cam fiddlin thro' the town,
And danc'd awa wi' th' Exciseman;
And ilka wife cries, auld Mahoun,
I wish you luck o' the prize, man.
Chorus
  The deil 's awa the deil 's awa
  The deil 's awa wi' th' Exciseman,
  He 's danc'd awa he 's danc'd awa
  He 's danc'd awa wi' the' Exciseman.

We'll mak our maut and we'll brew our drink,
We'll laugh, sing, and rejoice, man;
And mony braw thanks to the meikle black deil,
That danc'd awa wi' th' Exciseman.
  (Chorus)

There 's threesome reels, there 's foursome reels,
There 's hornpipes and strathspeys, man,
But the ae best dance e'er cam to the Land
Was, the deil 's awa wi' th' Exciseman.
  (Chorus)

Text Authorship:

  • by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), "The deil's awa wi' the Exciseman" [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):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Wilhelm Ernst von Winterfeld (1824 - 1888) ; composed by Siegmund von Hausegger.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in Hungarian (Magyar), a translation by János Arany (1817 - 1882) , "Az ördög elvitte a fináncot" ; composed by György Ligeti.
      • Go to the text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 19
Word count: 126

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