by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
The happy trio
Language: Scottish (Scots)
Our translations: FRE
O Willie brew'd a peck o' maut,
And Rob and Allan cam to see;
Three blyther hearts, that lee lang night,
Ye wad na found in Christendie.
Chorus:
We are na fou, we're [nae]1 that fou,
But just a drappie in our e'e;
The cock may craw, the day may daw,
And ay we'll taste the barley bree.
Here are we met, three merry boys,
Three merry boys I trow are we;
And mony a night we've merry been,
And mony mae we hope to be!
We are na fou, we're nae that fou...
It is the moon, I ken her horn,
That 's blinkin in the lift sae hie;
She shines sae bright to wyle us hame,
But by my sooth she'll wait a wee!
We are na fou, we're nae that fou...
Wha first shall rise to gang awa,
A cuckold, coward loun is he!
Wha first beside his chair shall fa',
He is the king amang us three!
We are na fou, we're nae that fou...
View text without footnotes
1 Haydn: "no"
Glossary
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
1 Haydn: "no"
Glossary
Maut = dry measure of malt
Lee lang = live-long
We are na fou = we are not drunk
Drappy = little drop
Bree = ale
Lift = sky
Wyle = entice
Loun = ragamuffin
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 (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809), "The happy trio", Hob. XXXIa:243, JHW. XXXII/3 no. 260 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Josef Václav Sládek) , "Veselá trojice"
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Le joyeux trio", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 170