by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
O merry hae I been teething a heckle
Language: Scottish (Scots)
O merry hae I been teethin a heckle, An' merry hae I been shapin a spoon: O merry hae I been cloutin a kettle, An' kissin my Katie when a' was done. O, a' the lang day I ca' at my hammer, An' a' the lang day I whistle and sing; O, a' the lang night I cuddle my kimmer, An' a' the lang night as happy 's a king. Bitter in dool I lickit my winnins O' marrying Bess, to gie her a slave: Blest be the hour she cool'd in her linnens, And blythe be the bird that sings on her grave! Come to my arms, my Katie, my Katie, An' come to my arms and kiss me again! Druken or sober, here 's to thee, Katie! And blest be the day I did it again.
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) [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 Francis George Scott (1880 - 1958), "O merry hae I been teething a heckle", published 1922 [ male voice and piano ], from Scottish Lyrics, Book 2, no. 4, Bayley & Ferguson [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Samuil Yakovlevich Marschak (1887 - 1964) , "Вторая песня лудильщика" ; composed by Vladislav Igorevich Kazenin.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 138